


I Wanna Get Better

by Delta_Rose



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Anal Sex, Cursing and other crude language, Hand Jobs, Home for At-Risk Youth setting, Jason/Octavian (Just barely and only mentioned), Jiper (mentioned), M/M, Mention of Bianca's death (murder), Mention of past dubcon- very minor, Minor Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Mortal AU, Nico di Angelo & Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano Friendship, Nico is sort of a slut, Oral Sex, Past Percico (mentioned), Perabeth (mentioned), References to violence (minor), Solangelo main ship, Some angst, Will is very sweet and innocent, background Jercy, mildly implied Hazel Levesque/Leo Valdez, sexually explicit conversations, use of homophobic language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2020-07-24 21:15:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 68,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20021143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delta_Rose/pseuds/Delta_Rose
Summary: Will doesn't belong at Olympus Home for At-Risk Youth, that is clear from day one. That doesn't mean he doesn't find himself drawn to the gorgeous guy in black clothes with the attitude. Even if he can get the seriously confusing guy of his dreams keeping him might be more complicated then he could have anticipated when a former resident of Olympus returns to cause trouble.*Total chapters is currently an estimate but should be no less.





	1. Chapter 1

Will sat in a cheap plastic chair outside the head counselor’s office at The Olympian’s Home for At-Risk Youths. Or, as his best friend Lou Ellen called it, Jail-Light for bad kids. Will was not a bad kid, not by a long shot. He was on the honor roll, did volunteer work, and wanted to be a doctor. For the life of him, Will could not figure out how he had ended up here. Sure, he remembered the events clear as day; The decisions he made along the way. Knowing all of that Will still couldn’t make sense of the consequence he now faced. _I was just defending myself_ , Will thought for the millionth time. It didn’t mean anything; he was still here.

He and his mother had already met with the place’s director about an hour earlier. Mr. D, as he had introduced himself, was a pot-bellied man with a strange obsession with leopard print and smelled like a brewery. If his mother had any concerns about leaving him in a facility run by a man with a clear drinking problem, she didn’t let on.

Now his mother was gone, and he sat alone waiting to meet with Mr. Brunner, the counselor, for orientation. He’d been waiting about ten minutes before he forced himself to stop wallowing in his own self-pity and looked around. 

This place, much like the chair he was sitting in, was depressing. The walls had once been painted white, probably in the mid-70s, and had never once been washed or touched up. The worn and cracked tile floor was a shade of green that reminded Will distinctly of snot. The wooden doors were dinged and scrapped from decades of abuse. Will had noticed large windows down the hall which allowed in plenty of natural light. He also could see they were covered with metal mesh. They sent such a clear message: Any freedom you feel here is just an illusion. Under different circumstances Will might have appreciated the symbolism, but not now. This was his life and he found himself depressed.

The sound of heavy footfalls against the cheap tile pulled Will’s attention off of the windows. He looked toward the source of the sound just in time to see a guy about his age drop himself in the seat next to him. Will’s most immediate thought was, ‘ _This guy belongs here_ ’. Hell, the guy looked like he could be this place’s poster child. Clearly a fan of black; he wore jeans with leather boots, a rumpled shirt, and a leather jacket, all black. His shirt advertised some classic rock band Will had only barely heard of. The only thing close to having color he was wearing was a large skull ring with blood red rubies for eyes.

Looking past the whole emo punk rocker look the guy was going for, Will couldn’t help but notice he was cute bordering on straight up hot. His skin was flawless ivory which stood out in stark contrast to his choice in clothes. He had sharp features with large eyes which seemed to reflect the black of his wardrobe. He looked up at Will through the shadows of his dark curls as he noticed Will staring. His full lips pulled up in the corners forming a dry smirk. 

Will mentally scolded himself as he looked away. He picked a spot on the dingy white wall and focused on it with all his energy. Will could still feel the guy’s eyes on him. Internally, he kicked himself, this is how he ended up here in the first place. Will didn’t want any trouble, he just wanted to get through this whole nightmare so he could put it behind him. The guy sitting next to him was clearly trouble, like trouble with a capital ‘T’.

“Hey there, sunshine,” Emo Boy greeted. Will was less than enthused with the nickname. Or he would have been if he really noticed it but he had been too preoccupied with the guy's voice. He detected a slight accent; he couldn't place it but it was kind of hot. “What you in for?” he asked.

“Umm,” Will had realized this was probably a question he was going to have to face but he had hoped he wouldn’t, at least not so soon. He squirmed in his chair, uncomfortable and ashamed as he admitted, “Assault.”

Will glanced over at the Emo Boy to see him nod thoughtfully for a moment before asking “What flavor?”

Will chewed at the inside of his lip. That must have been some kind of juvie term he wasn’t familiar with. “Huh?”

The other guy eyed him critically. Will got the feeling he was trying to decide if Will was just playing dumb or was actually dumb. “Aggravated? With intent? With a deadly?”

“Um, just regular,” Will shrugged. He hadn’t known there were different types of assaults until that moment, “I guess.”

A grin played at the corner of the Emo Boy’s lips. He clearly found the whole conversation amusing. _Well, at least one of them were having fun_ , Will thought. “What did you do?”

“I broke a guy’s nose,” Will muttered.

Emo Boy tilted his head slightly to one side as he took in that information. The gesture reminding Will of a neighborhood cat back in Tennessee when he was a kid. “That’s it?” he asked with a clear note of disbelief, “And they sent you here?”

“Yeah,” Will replied. He did his best to swallow the resentment that threatened to push to the surface but it was a challenge. A guy that looked like he boosted car stereos for extra cash could see this situation was beyond an overreaction but his mom was too worried about being embarrassed to acknowledge that fact. “It was the pastor’s son.”

Emo Boy grinned approvingly. “Not bad” he declared, and Will felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Will didn’t think he wanted this guy’s approval, even if he was hot in a bad boy kind of way.

Will looked away and they fell into an awkward sort of silence. Will quickly found it intolerable. He shifted his weight in his chair before awkwardly asking “Um, so why are you here?”

Another dark grin swept across Emo Boy’s face “Assault with a deadly weapon,” he stated amused. “But if you ask me the charges were trumped up,” he explained before asking, “Since when is a screwdriver a deadly weapon?”

“Um…,” Was all Will managed as he searched the guy’s features for a sign he had been joking and found none. Emo Boy seemed to find some kind of satisfaction in Will’s loss for words which Will found unnerving.

After another stretch of silence, the other guy asked: “So why’d you do it?”

Will had already been lost in his own thoughts. Mainly he had been trying to think of a justifiable reason someone would stab another person with a screwdriver. “What?” He asked coming back to the present.

“Break the pastor’s kid’s nose,” he explained before restating the question “Why’d you do it?”

The guy seemed genuinely curious which only made the whole thing worse. “Oh,” Will hadn’t really thought anyone would ask him why he did it. All the adults he had dealt with up to this point couldn’t seem to care less. Will shifted in his seat as he did his best to pick the right words “He was……. harassing me. I wanted him to back off.”

The Emo Boy smirked “Harass,” he played with the word, letting it roll off his tongue. “That is an awfully big word to describe someone being a dick,” he noted, “Why was he _harassing_ you?”

Will actually felt himself break out in a cold sweat. He didn’t want to become one of those tragic stories people use to illustrate the effects of intolerance. Mentally, he started actually praying that Mr. Brunner would finally show up or maybe that Mr. D would come to check on them. 

Realistically, Will knew he wasn’t that lucky- his present circumstances more than illustrated that. Help was not coming, and escape was not an option so he went with the only choice left to him, diversion. “Why’d you stab someone with a screwdriver?” Will asked.

Emo Guy’s eyes narrowed, and at first, Will thought he wasn’t going to answer. “He was annoying,” He shrugged his slender shoulders, “And I was bored”

“Oh,” Will still couldn’t tell if this guy was kidding or not. That should have probably made Will wary. Instead, it made Emo Boy seem mysterious, which Will found appealing.

“Your turn,” Emo Guy pointed out, “Do I need to repeat the question?” he asked and Will detected the hint of teasing in his voice.

“No,” Will sighed resigned. “I….. He found out I’m gay,” he explained looking down at his hands. It wasn’t that Will was actually ashamed of his sexuality. It was just hard watching people react to hearing it. Even people who didn’t respond with all-out disgust can get this inappropriately curious expression like he was some sort of science experiment.

Looking on the bright side, if Emo Guy was completely disgusted he would probably stop asking him questions. Then there would be no chance he would ask how the pastor’s son had found out he was gay. That still wasn’t a story Will was prepared to tell.

When Will dared to glance over he found Emo Guy was eyeing him critically. After an impossibly long stretch of silence, the guy held out a small hand. Will noticed how long and slender the guy’s fingers were, “I’m Nico di Angelo,” he declared.

“Ah,” Will was taken by complete surprise. He had never had anyone actually react so casually to hearing he was gay before. It took him a minute to realize he was supposed to actually do something and he shook the Emo Guy’s, Nico’s, hand. “Will Solace,” Will noted how Nico’s hands were cool, and while they looked graceful, they were well-calloused. Much to his own frustration, Will found himself having to fight back hard against the blush threatening to creep up his neck.

 _I am NOT going to get a crush on some bad boy in kiddie jail,_ Will told himself firmly.

Flustered, Will tried to think of something to say. He didn’t trust himself to speak and _not_ say something completely idiotic. Luckily awkward silence was an option as a man in a wheelchair turned the corner at and wheeled toward them. The man looked to be in his mid-fifties with dark hair, only a few hints of gray. He looked more like a college professor than a counselor at a youth home.

“Mr. di Angelo,” The man Will assumed was Mr. Brunner declared, wheeling up to them. “I can’t say I’m surprised to see you back here, but I am disappointed.” The man seemed sincerely disappointed, and Will felt bad even though he wasn’t the cause of the disappointment.

Nico shrugged unfazed, “Do I get my old room?”

Mr. Brunner sighed, resigned, and nodded in the affirmative. Nico pushed himself out of his chair and onto his feet. Will noticed the guy was on the short side. It made him less intimidating, if only slightly. He looked like he was going to leave but Mr. Brunner stopped him. “Mr. di Angelo, can you try to approach your stay this time a bit more constructively then your others?” The counselor asked, “Maybe as an opportunity for growth and self-discovery.”

Nico smirked coyly, “Anything is possible,” he shrugged “But I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.”

Mr. Brunner sighed heavily “I will see you tomorrow in group.”

“Not like I have much of a choice,” Nico stated before turning on his heels and heading down the hall toward the facility proper. Will mentally chided himself for being disappointed to see the guy go, and how excited he was when he paused and looked over his shoulder at Will. “See you around, Sunshine.” Will said nothing as Nico walked away. This time there was no stopping the blush that spread across his cheeks.

Mr. Brunner seemed to notice, his dark eyes flicked between Will to where Nico had disappeared around a corner and back to Will. Whatever the man saw or thought about the exchange he said nothing about it. 

“Mr. Solace, please follow me,” The man gestured to the office door that Will had been sitting outside of for the last half-hour. Will started pushing himself out of his chair. The man pulled open the door and wheeled himself in as Will followed.

After a half an hour orientation video that explained nothing, Will found himself sitting across from Mr. Brunner, The counselor's large desk between them. The man thoughtfully examined a file on his desk for a long time before looking up at Will. “So having looked over your file William-,” he started in a kind voice.

“Will,” he corrected.

Mr. Brunner nodded with understanding. “Apologizes, Will,” he corrected before continuing, “You’re a good student with no history of trouble,” he stated, and Will got the feeling he was reading bullet points off of his file. “And while assault is a serious offense, in your case there seems to have been mitigating circumstances.” Will bit back a laugh. Mitigating circumstances seemed like an understatement. “Now I see here, you are scheduled for an eight-month stay, but I see no reason that can’t be six,” He explained, “Based on your behavior while you’re here, of course.”

“Really?” Will asked feeling genuinely hopeful for the first time since that stupid party that ruined his life.

“Absolutely,” Mr. Brunner assured before adding, “That being said it can be easy to find yourself involved in trouble during your stay simply by making friends with the wrong people.” He chose his words carefully. “So be careful who you choose to associate with.”

“Okay,” Will replied unsurely. He got the distinct impression that Mr. Brunner was speaking specifically about Emo Boy from earlier. Will had thought that the guy was trouble, but this was a home for at-risk youth- Wouldn’t everyone be trouble?

“Now don’t worry,” Mr. Brunner stated. “There are a number of upstanding young men here for minor offenses such as yourself.” he looked back down at the folder again, “Your roommate will help you acclimate.” he stated as he flipped through papers, “I’m sure you have been assigned to someone in a sim-….. oh for the love of….” Mr. Brunner stopped and pitched his nose out of clear frustration. Will’s stomach dropped with fear. _What does that reaction mean about my roommate_ , Will wondered.

Mr. Brunner aggressively grabbed a stack of post-it notes off his desk and pulled it closer to himself. He scribbled something on it and detached it from the stack before attaching it to a long piece of paper about the size of the standard brochure. He turned the paper around and pushed it in front of Will. “This-” he indicated the sticky note “-is your room assignment. It is on the second floor, very easy to find. And this-” he indicated the paper under the sticky note “-is your class schedule. Just because you are here doesn’t mean you should neglect your studies. You will have group counseling every day. It looks like you’re scheduled for….” He tilted his head to better read the paper before letting out a heavy sigh, “Morning session,” he stated begrudgingly, “So I’ll see you tomorrow at nine.”

With his room assignment in hand, he tried to follow Mr. Brunner’s very vague directions. Will wasn’t really surprised he got lost. On his second course correction, he found what he figured was a lounge area. A nice guy with blonde hair and wire-rimmed glasses took pity on him. The guy walked away from the argument he was having to show Will where the nearest staircase was located.

Thanks to Blond Guy’s help, Will found his room with no more unintentional detours. Sticking his head through the open door, he was surprised to find it was actually a pretty big space. There was enough space to accommodate two beds, two dressers, two desks, and one bookshelf. The walls were an unfortunate faded yellow which may have been worse than the dingy white. Also, it clashed with the snot green floor.

One side of the room, the side closest to the door, was clearly occupied. Will’s first clue: the guy sitting on the bed. He looked to be Hispanic and had elfish features as best Will could tell. The guy didn’t look up from the bits of wires and electric pieces that surrounded him on the bed. It looked like the kid had surrounded himself with a dismantled radio.

Will noticed his belongings: his backpack, duffle bag, and guitar case had been rather unceremoniously dropped on the bed on the far side of the room. He took a few steps into the room before he froze.

“You must be the new roommate,” The Hispanic kid looked up from his wires as he noticed Will. Living in Tennessee most of his life, Will was practically an expert on southern accents. He was sure he picked up on the hints of Texas from this kid. “I’m Leo, and welcome to La Casa Valdez.” He remarked with a friendly grin.

Will nodded an acknowledgment as he walked across the room to where his stuff had been tossed. He could easily tell his bags had been unpacked and repacked rather sloppily. He frowned at the discovery.

Leo seemed to notice his concern as Will stared at his possessions rather helplessly. “Yeah, they go through everyone’s stuff when they arrive,” the Hispanic kid explained, “To make sure there is no contraband.”

“What counts as contraband?” Will asked absently. He couldn’t help but feel violated finding his stuff had been searched without his knowledge or permission.

“Pretty much everything that could be considered fun,” Leo replied, before adding positively, “You’re lucky it was Reyna on today. She is a bit of a hard ass but she’s honest. So you don’t have to worry that any of your stuff got pocketed.”

“Except for any sense of privacy,” Will replied remorsefully.

“You do know where you are, right?” Leo asked amused.

The day, everything, finally hit him and Will sat down on the bed, his bed, hard. It started to sink in; this was really happening. He was really here because he wouldn’t let some self-loathing, closeted dick bully him. He was going to spend the next eight months of his life here. He didn’t deserve it but that was the case none the less. Will felt tears began to well up in his eyes. For the first time since all of this started, he actually felt like he was going to cry. “It’s starting to sink in.”

“This place isn’t so bad,” Leo offered. “I’m a foster kid, so trust me. I’ve been in places way worse than this, trust me,” He explained reassuringly, “The first day is the hardest, but you’ll get used to it. Once you get to know a few people, make a few friends, this place becomes downright tolerable.”

“Yeah,” Will acknowledged, pushing a tear from his eye. He remembered Emo Guy from earlier. “Already met someone outside of Mr. D’s office.” He explained, actually feeling a little positive. Sure, the kid had seemed like trouble, but he had actually been pretty nice to Will, even after he had found out Will was gay. “I’m guessing he’s been here before based on the way Mr. Brunner talked to him.” He explained.

“A frequent flyer, there’s a few of those,” Leo commented looking interested. “Most of them are pretty cool.” he admitted, “What was his name?”

“Nico, I think,” Will replied. He hoped it didn’t sound like he had already memorized the guy’s name, because he _totally_ hadn’t.

Will looked over at the Hispanic kid and saw the guy blinking back at him, surprised. “Di Angelo?” He asked sounding skeptical.

Will shrugged, trying to look casual, “Oh yeah, I guess.”

“You’re friends with _di Angelo_?” Leo asked in clear disbelief.

Will kicked himself internally. He shouldn’t have mentioned anything about his run-in with Emo Guy. He knew next to nothing about him, or about his new roommate for that matter. For all Will knew, the two guys could hate each other. “I wouldn’t say friends,” Will clarified hoping to repair any damage he might have caused by bringing it up in the first place. “We just talked a little while we both waited for Mr. Brunner, that’s all,” He explained, but the look of disbelief didn’t leave Leo’s face. “Why? Is that a bad thing?”

“No” Leo answered sounding unsure “No, di Angelo’s cool. He’s just not known for being a social butterfly. He doesn’t usually talk to anyone outside his circle.”

“Oh?” Will exclaimed a bit surprised by that information. Nico had been pretty chatty earlier. Will wondered what that meant if Emo guy wasn’t normally like that.

“His sister is seriously hot though,” Leo declared with an impish grin, “Don’t tell him I said that. I’d like to keep all my fingers and toes.”

 _Hotness must run in the family_ , Will thought, which caused his cheeks to pink. “Your secret is safe with me,” He muttered reassuringly.

“Awesome!” Leo declared with sincere excitement as he hopped off his bed. “If you want I can show you around a bit, introduce you to the tolerable people in this place.”

“Yeah, that’d be cool,” Will admitted, “I mean if you don’t mind.”

“You seem cool enough,” Leo shrugged, “Which already makes you a thousand times better than my last roommate. Octavian, what a dick!” he informed before gesturing to wires on the bed, “Besides, this can wait.”


	2. Chapter 2

Nico di Angelo left Golden Boy behind. No doubt he was being subjected to the stupid orientation video. _Poor guy_ , Nico thought absently as he made his way easily through the maze of hallways. 

Whoever designed the place was a sadistic fuck, to say the least, and the floor plan made next to no sense. The rumor was the place was an insane asylum before it was a boy’s home, but Nico knew that story was bullshit. Still, the first time he was sent there the thought had freaked him out more than he cared to admit.

After about a half a dozen stays in Olympus in just as many years Nico could navigate the place with ease. He took a short cut through one of the staff only areas that he shouldn't have access to but the lock was broken. Then he ducked up a back staircase most people didn’t know existed. He took that course to bypass the rec room and people in general. He had a routine, a way of integrating himself back into this place. He just wasn’t at the dealing with people phase yet.

Outside of Olympus Nico was even less for socializing with people then he was when he was in this place. He got expelled from most schools so quickly, it didn’t leave time for making friends. That was fine, it wasn't like Nico was in the market for friends anyways. 

At home, there were usually people around, but it was a pretty big place. None of the people were actually there for him except for maybe Hazel. It was easy to avoid people if he wanted, and he usually did. 

When he came to his usual room on the fourth floor he found his belongings had beat him there. He grinned to see his large duffel bag and backpack sitting neatly on his bed. Reyna must have been on duty today, that was the only explanation for his things not being ransacked. He didn’t doubt his belongs had been searched, Reyna always did her job, and she did it well, but she had shown care to put his things back neatly.

Honestly, Nico didn’t know if Reyna was like that with everyone or if it was just him. As strange as it was, he and Reyna had developed a bit of a bond during his stays. In spite of the age difference or the clear deviation in lifestyle choices, the two had a lot in common. Occasionally, this meant Reyna showed him a bit of favoritism. Never enough to get him or her in trouble but enough to make things a bit more tolerable which in this place meant a lot.

Rather sloppily, he shoved his clothes into the rickety looking dresser. He stacked a few of his books on the nightstand and tossed his iPod in the drawer. If he were anyone else, he would have to worry about something valuable like that getting snatched. After all, this place was literally full of juvenile delinquents. Nico di Angelo wasn’t just anybody, and no one would dare, so he didn’t need to be concerned.

Once everything was in its rightful place Nico figured he couldn’t avoid people forever. He took a deep breath to steely himself before heading to the rec room. As he approached, he heard the bickering clear as day and rolled his eyes. 

_Some things never changed_ , he thought as he turned a corner.

Sure enough, by the foosball table that was so old and so broken its only entertainment value was as abstract art stood two guys he knew well. Nico di Angelo didn’t have friends, but if he did it would probably these two idiots. That would be just his luck.

Percy Jackson and Jason Grace were probably the only two people that came close to spending as much time in the Olympus Home for At-Risk Youth as Nico did. Which Nico had to admit was kind of impressive.

Whatever they were bickering about stopped abruptly when Jason caught sight of Nico. Both were overly enthusiastic in greeting him which was annoying but expected. They demanded hugs even though they knew Nico didn’t like to be touched. Nico protested loudly but hugged them anyway just to shut them up. As obnoxious as they were, Nico couldn’t deny they managed to get along in spite of all their differences.

Percy Jackson was the kid you pegged as trouble the moment you saw him. He was the surfer dude the didn’t actually know how to surf. Percy was the guy who managed to get in serious trouble on the first day of school, and he couldn't explain how. Jason Grace was almost the polar opposite of Percy. He could have been the stereotypical All-American Boy if he didn’t have issues with authority and an overdeveloped sense of justice.

They shouldn’t have gotten along. They shouldn’t have even crossed paths, but they just seemed to keep ending up together. Both Percy and Jason’s older sister, Thalia, had both gone to school with Nico’s older sister, Bianca, before she passed away. Nico had never met Percy or Thalia while Bianca was alive, but they both had known her. Percy had come to her funeral to offer his condolences which had meant a lot to Nico at the time. 

Yeah, the universe definitely wanted them to know each other. Nico wondered if it was because they had one major thing in common, and it wasn’t that all three of them were delinquents. Each one of them was the bastard son of powerful men.

Percy’s dad was all about boats. If a ship was sailing the sea Percy’s dad probably had something to do with it. Shipping freighters, cruise ships, fishing boats, the man had his hands in all of it. Apparently, Percy mom had worked on a cruise ship one summer to help pay for college and the rest was history. Out of the three of them, Percy probably had the best relationship with his dad. While the CEO of Poseidon industries wasn’t exactly present in his son’s life, he did always make sure that Percy and his mom were comfortable.

Jason’s dad, or as Jason called him “the giant windbag” owned some huge corporation. It was one of those corporations that seemed to be involved in just about everything. Nico had a hard time keeping all of it straight, but he knew that one subsidiary was an airline while another was the largest provider of electricity in the US. The man was also rather notorious for chasing skirts. Over the years he had had several high profile affairs. Jason was the result of a decade long affair he had had with a struggling Broadway actress. When Jason’s mother had passed away the CEO of Jupiter Enterprises claimed his two children rather than let them end up in the foster care system. His wife had been less than pleased but took out most of her rage on Jason’s sister, Thalia. Strangely, Hera seemed to dote on Jason. Little did she realize Jason fucking hated her with a furled passion.

Nico’s dad wasn’t the CEO of anything, at least not on paper. He had, however, varied business interests of his own that kept him quite wealthy. Some of those interests even stretched all the way back to Italy. That’s where he had met Nico’s mother, in a small village not far from Venice. That was where both Nico and his sister had been born, although Nico had been so young when they had moved he didn’t really remember it. When his mother had become ill, his father had spared no expense to move them to the states. He did it so that Maria could have access to the best medical treatments. It hadn’t mattered, she had died anyway.

“Bro, what you do this time?” Percy asked jarring Nico from his memories.

That was not a story Nico wanted to tell, not really. He grinned humorlessly at the question. “Honestly, with my record, I really don’t know what they expected putting me in shop class.” He replied knowingly he wasn't actually answering Percy’s question. “So what’s new around here?” He pushed the topic of conversation further from himself.

“Seriously nothing,” Percy answered the boredom practically dripping off his words.

“You know how this place is,” Jason added with a shrug. “Nothing ever really changes.”

Nico knew that statement was true enough. Sure, some of the details might have changed, like who the players were, but in the big picture this place was pretty consistent. That didn’t stop the other two boys from proceeding to fill him in on all the little things that had gone on in his three-month absence. Nico was pleased to hear the Stoll brothers were back because if you wanted a bit of contraband there was no one better at getting it. He was over-fucking-joyed to hear that weasel Octavian was gone. Nico was even amused by how Jason and Percy kept getting side-tracked from actually giving him information to bicker about who had the details right.

Percy was explaining how Chris had managed to get himself sent to seclusion again. As he did Jason muttered under his breath about how Percy was telling it wrong. When Nico caught the sound of a familiar voice and got distracted missing most of the story. 

“And this is the rec room,” Nico heard Leo Valdez explaining. Valdez might have been a bit of a loud mouth at times but Nico found him seriously fucking amusing. Plus, you could give the guy two bits of wire and a half dead battery, and he could MacGyver you a god-damned helicopter. What wasn’t to like about that?

Nico looked to see Leo leading the way around the rec room with Golden Boy from earlier in tow. _Of-fucking-course_ , Nico thought. With Octavian gone the guy probably got roomed with Valdez, that was just his luck. _Maybe they won’t come over here_ , he hoped.

“You can hang out here when you have downtime,” Nico heard Leo continue to explain, “Around here you have a lot of that.”

Nico’s eyes reflexively zeroed in on the more visually appealing of the two. Golden Boy was currently following Valdez like the Hispanic kid was his lifeline. Will was tall with broad shoulders and well-muscled arms. Nico would have figured him for an athlete of some kind just from the clear muscle tone. He had messy golden blond hair, hence the nickname Nico had given the guy in his head. He was also rocking a beach-bum tan that was out of place in cloudy-as-fuck New York but it worked for the guy. Caramel skin acted as a golden backdrop to the spray of the dark of freckles that ran over his cheeks and across the bridge of his nose. 

_He’s fucking hot_ , Nico observed as he licked his lips absently. For a moment his mind wandered. He wondering if Golden boy had freckles anywhere else. 

For a second, he thought Golden Boy looked in his direction. Internally, he cursed himself as he averted his eyes. _Get your shit together_ , Nico told himself.

Nico had made a promise to his half-sister Hazel. She had been so upset when she had found out he was going away again, and she had begged him to behave. Or, as she had put it “refrain from engaging in behaviors of general sluttiness” for his twelve-month stay. 

If the request had come from anyone else Nico would have laughed it off. He certainly wouldn’t have made any promises. But it was Hazel. Nico actually cared what she thought of him. He didn’t want to disappoint her, so he had promised. At the time he didn’t think much of it but, of course, the universe had to throw a fucking Adonis in his way. A gay Adonis. It was like putting a bottle of liquor in front of an alcoholic and expecting him not to drink.

Of course, Leo lead Golden Boy right to where Nico, Jason, and Percy were standing. Nico had given up on the idea of a higher power when he had lost Bianca. Now, he was seriously thinking of taken it back up for no other reason than luck this bad didn’t seem impossible without a little divine intervention. “Remember those tolerable people I promised to introduce you to?” Leo stated over his shoulder to Golden Boy. “Well, here are two of the most tolerable. Jason Grace and Percy Jackson.” Valdez declared gestured first to Jason than to Percy. He jutting his finger over his shoulder at Golden Boy. “This is my new roommate, Will”

“Hey,” Will gave them a nervous sort of wave. Nico tried not to look right at him even though his nervous energy was endearing. Nico did his best to look disinterested with a dash of annoyed. It was his signature look, he had perfected it over years of practice.

“You look human, so you’ve got to be better than Octavian,” Percy commented jokingly.

“Dude, Medusa would be better than fucking Octavian,” Leo exclaimed with a roll of his eyes.

“Nice to meet you, man.” Jason greeted. Unlike Percy, Jason was all about manners. They had joked on more than one occasion that they should nominate Jason as their officially welcoming committee. “Glad to see you figured out where you were going.”

Golden Boy’s cheeks pinked at the comment which was cute as fucking hell. _He is absolutely going to have to stop doing that_ , Nico thought.

“Yeah, thanks for the assist,” Will mumbled.

“No problem,” Jason replied sincerely with a casual shrug.

“Yeah, this place is a fucking labyrinth. Everyone gets lost a few times,” Percy offered reassuringly.

“I never have,” Nico commented with cocky a smirk.

“Except for Nico apparently” Percy corrected dryly.

“Oh sorry,” Jason began to fumble with his words as he gestured to Nico. “This is Nico di…..”

“Calm down mom,” Nico offered with thick sarcasm. He rolled his eyes. Jason was always doing things like that. It was like he had made it his personal fucking mission to make sure Nico was included as if Nico cared. “We’ve already met.”

“Still, Hera would be so disappointed in you.” Percy teased nudging Jason’s shoulder lightly. “Not making the proper introductions,” Percy faked shock before snickering, “Were you raised by wolves?”

“Shut the fuck up, Jackson.” Jason pushed Percy back more roughly but still in a playful manner. Jason looked quickly between Nico and Golden Boy clearly a bit confused and surprised. Jason knew Nico didn't socialize unless forced to. “When did this happen?”

Nico shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal because it _wasn’t_. _He’s just some guy,_ Nico reminded himself, _just some guy who was hot and of the right sexual orientation_. Why couldn’t he at least be straight? Then Nico could enjoy the view while knowing anything more was a non-option. “Earlier.”

“There are doing away with the orientation film and they’re just throwing the newbies at di Angelo,” Leo declared with a laugh.

“Well, Nic certainly has been here enough,” Jason agreed thoughtfully.

“Oh my god, the fucking orientation video!” Percy exclaimed excitedly. “Does it still have like 20 minutes on the dangers of fraternization?” Percy asked although he didn’t wait for Golden Boy to respond before smacking Nico on the arm hard. He ignored or was oblivious to the way Nico glared at him. _Fuck, this is Percy_ , Nico remembered, _of course, he’s oblivious._ “I would pay money to hear your take on that!”

Nico continued to scowl at him, “I will literally stab you.”

Rather unexpectedly Golden Boy snickered before asking with a small grin. “Do you have easy access to a screwdriver in here?” 

Nico blinked twice before he got the reference. He couldn't help but grin at the blonde. “You can have access to pretty much whatever you want in here as long as you know the right people.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll point them out,” Jason promised reassuringly.

“We will?” Percy asked shooting a surprised look in Jason’s direction.

“Dude, Nico was willingly nice to him,” Jason pointed out seriously.

“What the fuck?” Nico hissed in protest. He was not _nice_ , Nico di Angelo didn’t do _nice_.

Percy completely ignored him and spoke to Jason like he didn’t even exist. Nico fucking hated it when they did that. “We have no way of knowing if he was actually nice.”

“Fine, communicative,” Jason amended ignoring how Nico growled, “I’m curious.”

Nico rolled his eyes “I am capable of being nice you know,” He pointed out to his own surprise. _Why do I care_ , Nico wondered.

“Really?” Percy asked skeptically. “Since when?”

“I’m nice to you two idiots,” Nico growled.

“Less than two minutes ago you threatened to stab me,” Percy pointed out plainly.

Nico crossed his arms over his chest in a show of defiance. “But I didn’t actually do it,” He hissed.

“And if that isn’t true friendship, I don’t know what is,” Will commented teasingly. Jason and Percy both looked toward Golden Boy with surprised amusement. Nico grinned at the guy approvingly. Apparently under all the nervousness Golden Boy had a bit of sass in him. Nico could appreciate that if he wanted to appreciate it, if he wasn’t trying hard not to like this guy. _Why couldn’t he be an asshole, or an idiot, or ugly_ , Nico wondered. 

Leo chuckled and patted Will on back. “Oh yeah, you’re going to get along here just fine.” Golden Boy blushed again at the comment. 

_He really needed to fucking stop doing that_ , Nico thought again.

“So whatcha in for?” Percy asked curiously.

Nico notices how Golden Boy’s gaze shifted uncomfortably at the question. _He’s going to have to get better about answering that question_ , Nico thought to himself. It was practically part of the handshake in this place. ‘Hi, my name’s so-and-so and I committed [insert name of crime here]’. 

The guy was lucky, he was in for something respectable, at least as the other residents would see it. It wasn’t one of those stupid first-time offenses like shoplifting or underage drinking. Still, if Golden Boy looked so embarrassed and ashamed every time he was asked people would quickly label him as weak. While the vast majority of residents of Olympus were actually decent enough, there were a few sadistic assholes that would take advantage of any perceived weakness for their own gain, and they usually weren’t nice about it.

“Aggravated Assault,” Nico supplied. He noticed the thankful look shot in his direction by the blonde. He ignored it. He didn’t need this guy thinking Nico was going to swoop in and save him. Nico was trying hard to convey that he was not a _good guy_ so Golden Boy would stay the fuck away.

“Oh, I see,” Percy snickered and shot a knowing look in Nico’s direction. “That’s why you were being social, you sensed a kindred spirit.”

Nico made a show of rolling his eyes at Percy. “I was waiting for Brunner, you know how that can be,” he explained, “I was bored.”

He had been bored, and he had never been good with the whole concept of waiting. Then he found himself sitting next to a hot blonde. He may have promised Hazel he would keep it in his pants but not that he wouldn’t window shop.

“I guess I’m lucky I wasn’t annoying then,” Will commented with a smirk.

Nico grinned at Golden boy again with approval. Not only was the guy cute, he was witty too. _Fuck_ , Nico thought, _this is going to be trouble_. “You have no idea.” 

_Guys this perfect didn’t end up in this place_ , Nico told himself. Golden Boy had to have some ugly fucking secret hidden somewhere below the surface. Nico just had to look harder for it.

Golden Boy’s smirk widened into an actual grin, and Nico began to wonder. _Were they flirting_? Nico couldn’t be sure, he usually skipped that part. But this definitely felt like flirting. The guy’s intense blue eyes flicked away, and Nico wondered if he had imagined it. _No_ , Nico told himself, _you’re not going to start seeing signs of things that weren’t there._

_Guys like that don’t want guys like me._

“Hey, aggravated assault, wasn’t that one of your charges, Perce?” Leo asked.

“Nay, I pleaded down to vandalism and resisting arrest,” Percy replied with a shrug.

Jason snickered and gave Percy a playful nudge. “That does sound better than terrorism and aggravated assault.”

“Whoa, you’re a terrorist?” Will asked slightly bug-eyed. _That is not a cute facial expression_ , Nico recognized and focused on that.

“I’m an environmentalist,” Percy corrected before nudging Jason back “And shut the fuck up grand theft auto!”

Will looked toward Jason surprised. “You stole a car?” Nico understood the guy’s confusion, Jason didn’t look like the car stealing type.

“It’s not what it sounds like,” Jason stated reassuringly.

Leo laughed “It’s way more funny.”

Jason shot Leo a slightly annoyed look. “Not that funny firebug.” Jason retorted.

“Hey!” Leo stated firmly. “That fire was a complete accident! The charges were total B.S.! Not all of us have rich daddies paying their legal fees.”

“Um…” Will looked around the group of bickering guys bewildered and slightly frightened.

Nico snickered even though he felt some genuine sympathy for the guy. He could only imagine what their stories sounded like to an outsider. Normally he relished in outsiders’ panic but not with Golden Boy for whatever reason. “Don’t worry everything sounds worse when you talk about it in legal terms.”

“Percy was trying to save the whales,” Jason explained with a playful grin shot in Percy’s direction.

“Dolphins!” Percy corrected.

Jason grinned widened as he asked. “What’s the difference?” Percy looked shocked and offended at the comment which was clearly what Jason had been going for. “Anyways, he sabotaged some fishing boats. When he got caught by a dock security guard, he pushed them in the water.”

“It was an accident!” Percy insisted for what felt like the hundredth time.

“Sure,” Jason, Nico, and Leo chorused skeptically. Nico actually believed him. Percy did have a talent from maximizing the amount of trouble he was in without actually trying. He wasn’t going to tell Percy that, of course.

“Whatever,” Percy rolled his eyes with annoyance before trying to turn the attention on Jason. “So Jason…..”

“Ow, ow, ow!” Leo interrupted excitedly “Can I tell it? I fucking love this story!” he asked. He continued without waiting for anyone’s permission. “So do you know that actor, Tristan McLean?”

“Yeah, he does all those generic action movies. He's usually the hero who spends half the movie with his shirt off for some unexplained reason,” Will replied.

“Yup, that’s the guy!” Leo acknowledged excitedly. _Someone needs to up his dose of Adderall_ , Nico thought absently. “Jason stole his car.”

Will looked both surprised and a little impressed which Nico found annoying. Stealing a car was neither difficult or impressive. Jason didn’t actually steal the damned car either. “Seriously?” Will questioned.

“It’s not nearly as cool as it sounds,” Percy informed. He shot a mischievous look at Jason as he asked. “Why don’t you give him the details, Jay?”

Jason groaned and shoved his hands in his jean pockets. “So technically I didn’t steal it, my girlfriend, Piper did.”

“Oh so….” Will started confusion written across his face.

“Wait for it,” Leo cut off his new roommate by patting him on the shoulder. “He’s not done.”

“And how did she get it, Jason?” Percy asked knowingly.

Jason glared at Percy before rolling his eyes. “Tristan McLean is her dad.” He admitted.

Percy grinned as he continued to prod. “And what were you two doing when you got caught?”

Jason growled his answer. “We were fooling around in the back seat.” He replied through clenched teeth. Jason absolutely hated to tell that story, everyone knew that. So naturally, Percy made it his life’s mission to force him to tell it as much as humanly possible.

“Oh,” Will acknowledged. His cheeks pinked again and his body tensed slightly like he was embarrassed by the mere mention of sex. 

Despite having repeatedly telling himself he wasn’t at all interested in anything about this guy, Nico found his interests peaked. When the Golden Boy had admitted he was gay earlier Nico had figured as good looking as he was he would definitely have some experience. Now the soft pink that spread across his freckled cheeks screamed virgin. _Interesting_ , Nico thought.

“Yeah, needless to say, her dad was less than thrilled,” Jason explained with a shrug. “The whole thing was pretty embarrassing.”

“Please, it couldn’t have been that bad!” Percy waved Jason off “You’re such a drama queen.”

“I’ve been caught doing way worse.” Nico pointed out. If Golden Boy thought anything of the statement or even understood it’s meaning it didn’t show on his face. Nico was a bit disappointed by that, he was really starting to enjoy watching him blush. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Yes, but unlike you I have _shame_ ,” Jason stated.

Percy laughed at that comment. “Since when?” He asked.

“Dude, I was brought down to the police station in nothing but my underwear!” Jason recounted.

“That’s my favorite part!” Leo declared, “Hilarious.”

Will seemed to take all that information in before turning to Leo. “So what did you do?”

Leo’s typical impish greet faltered slightly. Nico doubted Golden Boy noticed it, it had only lasted a second before Leo was Leo again. “Dude, you don’t want to hear my story, it’s boring.” Valdez declared. Nico wasn’t surprised Leo had yet to tell anyone the whole story. He only let slip a few details, basically, all they knew was there was a fire. “Besides, I’m fucking starved!” he stated effectively pushing the conversation of him. “Come on, I’ll show you where the cafeteria is.” He told Will.

Golden Boy shrugged in agreement. Nico got the impression he intended to hang on to Leo for dear life, at least until something better came along.

Absently, Nico thought, _I could be something better, he could hang on to me_.

“I could eat,” Percy agreed.

“Nothing new there,” Jason snickered.

“Shut up the fuck up, Grace.” Percy retorted.

Jason and Percy continued to bicker like an old married couple as they made their way to the cafeteria. Leo continued to chatter and point things out to Will, who mostly nodded to show he was listening. Nico remained silent. It was easy enough, people didn’t expect much in the way of verbal communication from him. That was fine by him, it gave him some peace to think.

Sure, he was still waiting for Golden Boy’s ugly flaw to come clawing its way to the surface. Unfortunately, it looked like his group of pseudo-friends had adopted the guy, at least for now. None of it really mattered the guy could be perfect, Nico could work with that. After all, perfect guys didn’t go for the damaged goth kids with bad attitudes. Nico would just have to make things clear.

 _Guys like that don’t want guys like me,_ Nico reminded himself. And if that had to become his personal fucking mantra for the next twelve months so be it.


	3. Chapter 3

Will allowed himself to be led to the cafeteria. As the other boys navigated the maze of hallways between the rec room and the cafeteria Will got lost to his own thoughts. Will was beyond thankful he had ended up with a nice roommate. Left to his own devices, Will would have probably died of hunger before he ever found the cafeteria.

The room was the same non-descript space that operated as a lunchroom in every high school in the United States. It was large, with round tables spread out around the room. When they arrived about a dozen guys were milling around the room. Some were eating, some were waiting in line for dinner, and others appeared to be socializing.

After they all got food, they moved to an isolated table toward the back of the room. As he took a seat between Leo and Nico, Will was actually feeling hopeful. He hadn’t expected that to happen at all in a place like this, and he certainly had expected it to happen so soon. But Will had to admit, things didn’t seem that bad. Leo, his roommate, seemed genuinely nice. Percy and Jason were probably two of the most entertaining people he had ever met. And then there was Nico.

Nico was mysterious, dark, and confusing with his dark eyes the color of the midnight sky with gold flecks for stars. Will eyed the food on his plate as he tried to push those thoughts out of his mind. He was not going to be the pathetic gay guy that crushed on some straight boy he just met, he told himself.

He dared a sideways glance at the boy to his right in spite of himself. He noticed Nico’s plate, instead of having an actual meal, all he had was a large plate of French fries. “Is that all your eating?” Will asked concerned.

Nico picked at fry off the plate, examined it carefully before biting it in half. Once he had chewed and swallowed he shrugged. “Let me guess, your one of those my body is my temple types?”

“I’m going to be a doctor someday,” Will replied flatly.

Nico grinned at him, a mischievous glint in his eyes “Ow, a man with lofty ambitions, I like that.” The boy teased in a way that made Will tingle with excitement. He really wished the guy would stop that, it was confusing. Nico’s expression turned serious, and he pointed a fry at Will to punctuate his point. “But remind me never to hang out with you at a party.”

Will fought hard and managed, just barely, not to react. If Will never heard the word 'party' again it would be too soon. Well, at least the thought was rather sobering. It helped him focus on something besides the realization that Nico had rather pouty lips. Will could just imagine he was a really good kisser. “Parties aren’t really my thing,” Will grumbled.

Will thought the comment would be disregarded by the others as nothing of real importance, and for the most part, it was. Leo, Jason, and Percy didn’t seem all that interested but Nico stared at him intensely. It was like he was trying to read Will’s very soul, and Will really wished he would stop. If anyone could read people's souls Will was sure it would be Nico.

“Alright, let’s get you the lay of the land,” Percy declared drumming his hands on the table and drawing everyone’s attention to him. Will was relieved to have the attention off of himself. “Over there you’ve got your trust-fund brats.” Percy declared pointing to a table where three or four guys sat talking. Each one of them looked over styled and over-dressed to be in a center for at-risk youth.

“Every one of them has at least one Porsha,” Leo stated mockingly. It wasn’t hard for Will to figure out his roommate wasn't a fan of the rich kids. That wouldn't be a problem being from a single parent home, Will had spent most his life being just this side of dirt poor. “And their designer sunglasses cost more than your entire wardrobe.”

“All of them are in here because of underage drinking, drug offenses, or crushing said Porsha while drinking or doing drugs,” Jason explained with clear disapproval.

“Then there’s the future farmers of America.” Percy pointed to another group. Three guys, all wearing hemp jewelry and some form of tie-dye. One of them even appeared to have dreadlocks even though he was white.

“If you can’t tell by their stereotypical fashion choices, they are here for selling, smoking or growing pot,” Nico commented dryly.

“That big group over there,” Jason pointed at the largest conglomeration of teens, “Those are the street kids.”

“Not all of them are homeless or foster kids, but a lot of them are,” Leo explained.

“They’re actually a pretty diverse group,” Percy commented, “Some of them are here on drug charges, others thief, and I think a few are even here on vandalism.”

“Most of them are pretty cool guys,” Leo commented.

“And if you ever need anything snuck in,” Nico explained, “They are the ones to talk to.”

“The Stoll brothers are the best,” Percy added, “But there are a few others that are good if you’re in a pinch.

Will did his best to take in everything they were saying. He was surprised that it all didn’t seem as foreign as he would have thought. “It seems a lot like high school,” he observed.

“Pretty much,” Jason agreed with a casual shrug.

“Except everyone here is a criminal,” Nico commented with a humorless grin.

“So exactly like high school” Leo joked “At least the one I went to.”

A cluster of four or five guys walked in, and Jason jutted his head toward them. “There’s the jocks”

“And over there,-” Percy pointed at one of the few groups left that hadn’t already been given a label, “Are the roid-heads.”

“Best not to get those two groups mixed up,” Leo explained warningly.

“Jocks and roid-heads?” Will questioned, “Isn’t that a little redundant?”

“It would seem that way, wouldn’t it?” Nico agreed as he eyed the cluster of jocks that walked near their table with clear disdain. “Both groups base most their social interactions on an overabundance of testosterone and homoerotic overtures.”

“Since when do you have a problem with testosterone?” Jason questioned skeptically.

Percy chuckled “Or homoerotic overtures?”

Nico looked away from the beefed up guys as they took a seat a few tables away and returned his attention to his French fries. “Since they come packaged with low IQs and shrunken nads.” He commented plainly. “What can I say, I prefer guys with normal sized tentacles and the ability to add two-digit numbers.”

Will had apparently chosen the wrong moment to take a sip of his water. The comment was so far from anything he had expected to hear he choked on the cold liquid before sputtering rather dramatically. The others turned to him concerned, well except for Nico who just smirked at him dryly.

Leo gave him a pat on the back, “Sorry, probably should have warned you about that,” he commented, “After a while, you habituate to Di Angelo’s inappropriate comments.”

“How am I being inappropriate?” Nico asked defensively. Or at least that’s how he tried to come off, but the grin that tugged at his lips gave away his amusement. “That comment wasn’t even that bad,” He stated, “If I were making comments about tits and pussy you wouldn’t say boo, but since I prefer cock I’m being inappropriate.” Will gapped at him and hoped his cheeks weren’t nearly as red as they felt. He had never heard anyone speak so explicitly in such a matter-of-fact tone before in his life. “Don’t be so hetero-centric, Valdez.”

“That bit about tits and pussy was extremely inappropriate,” Jason noted.

Nico grinned devilishly. “I’m okay with that.” He stated before biting into a fry with clear relish.

“You’re……gay?” Will questioned in surprised. Honestly, how often is the leather jacket-wearing emo kid gay? Still, the question lacked anything even remotely resembling subtly.

“What? You couldn’t tell?” Nico asked with thick sarcasm. “You know, I was going to wear my rainbow cape and be _fabulous”_ He emphasized his point by making that stereotypical effeminate flick of the wrist everyone did when they were doing a “gay” impression. Will had to fight back the urge to cringe. He hated shit like that. Nico’s demeanor returned to what Will had seen of him so far before continuing, “But then I remembered I’m not a walking stereotype.”

“Don’t mind Nico,” Percy commented almost apologetically, “He suffers from occasional bouts of gay rage.”

Will registered Percy’s words on some level but didn’t really process them at the moment. Most of his brain had been overwhelmed with a sense of panic. Will had spent plenty of time over the years hoping this boy, or that boy was gay, but this was the first time he wished a cute boy was straight.

If Nico was straight, Will could work with that. Straight meant he was not an option. If he was gay, he was an option- a mysterious option with pouty lips and dreamy eyes. The fact that he was clearly troubled, and kind of a sarcastic ass from what Will had seen so far meant that in all likelihood he was a bad option. Still, he was an option a very tempting option at that.

Internally, Will started chanting the mantra _‘I am William Solace and I am not attracted to bad boys’._ After the third or fourth recitation, he wondered how many times he would have to say it for it to become true.

 _God damn_ , Will cursed himself. He desperately needed his best friend, Lou Ellen. She had been the first person he had ever told he was gay. Lou was Will’s partner in crime, and when he needed it, she was the one who talked him out of doing reckless or stupid things. If Lou were here right now she would slap him upside the head and tell him he had enough trouble right now. He didn’t need to make more for himself by crushing on a guy who’s wardrobe screamed ‘emotionally damaged’.

Some of Will’s internal dilemma must have read on his face, but luckily was interrupted. “Don’t worry man,” Leo declared, “You’re safe” he gave Will another reassuring pat back again. “I can personally attest that he doesn’t go for straight guys,” he explained, “He’s never hit on me.”

“That has nothing to do with sexual orientation,” Nico insisted, “You’re not my type.”

Will was surprised that was all Nico had to say. After all, this guy already knew Will was gay, so why hadn’t he pointed out Leo’s false assumption. And for that matter, why hadn’t he said anything earlier when they had been sitting there waiting for Mr. Brunner. Maybe he had planned to and got interrupted by the counselor’s arrival, Will tried to reason, but Nico didn’t seem like the type that would care. Suddenly, Will wondered if that sense that the guy was watching him was because he really was. He was toying with him, just to see how Will would react.

“I thought anyone with a cock was your type?” Percy commented teasingly.

Nico glared and proceeded to flip Percy off. He turned toward Will and Leo “But no, I’m not stupid or desperate enough to chase after straight guys, too much drama.” He commented matter-of-factly. He turned back toward Percy and grinned wickedly. “Besides, the last _supposed_ straight guy I hooked up with gave me the worst blow job of my life.”

“Hey!” Percy exclaimed offended, “It wasn’t that bad and fuck you!”

“Yeah, I’m going to let Jason field that one” Nico chuckled with his victory.

Jason eyed Percy thoughtfully for a moment. “Maybe later,” he commented. “But it will be less you fucking me and more me fucking-”

“You both fucking suck, and I hate you,” Percy declared. The brunet crossed his arms over his chest and slouched back in his chair with a pouting expression. “And I don’t give bad head,” he insisted.

“No, not bad,” Jason agreed before carefully adding after some thought, “Just not great.”

“Fine, you can just suck your own cock for now on,” Percy hissed.

“Percy,” Nico laughed, “If Jason could do that why would he need you?” This time Percy was the one who flipped Nico off.

Will’s head spun, that was a whole lot of unexpected information. He didn’t even think to try and hide his surprise and confusion. A million questions ran through his head as he tried to process everything that was just said.

“Alright guys I’m pretty much inoculated to these conversations,” Leo jumped in with a more serious tone then Will had heard so far. “Can we tone it back a bit for the new guy?” He requested gesturing to Will.

“He’s fine,” Nico replied dismissively before grinning at Will “Aren’t you, Sunshine?”

“It’s Will,” He corrected, Sunshine was not a nickname he wanted to stick.

Nico’s grin widened, there was a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Oh, but Sunshine suits you,” he replied with mock sweetness before he winked in Will’s direction.

“Dude, I just got through saying you don’t hit on straight guys,” Leo reminded sounding exasperated

“Yes, you did,” Nico replied smugly. Will caught the playful smirk shot in his direction. The other three guys didn’t seem to notice and didn’t seem to read anything from Nico’s tone. Will was thankful for that, even though now he was positive Nico was playing with him like a cat with a mouse. As frustrated as Will found that he always found it enticing and a little sexy.

“Then direct your general sluttiness elsewhere,” Leo insisted. Nico just shrugged as a response before returning to his fries.

“I’m so confused,” Will admitted. He looked toward Jason and asked one of the many questions that had formed in his mind, “I thought you had a girlfriend?”

“I do,” Jason replied simply.

“So do I,” Percy added even though Will hadn’t asked, and that information only made him more confused.

This stuff was really none of Will’s business, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking. “But you’re both …..gay?”

“Dude, sexual orientation is not a strictly binary system,” Jason stated.

“I’m pan,” Percy explained, “Jason’s bi.”

“And don’t say that those are the same thing, they get really pissed,” Leo advised seriously.

“Cause they’re not the same thing,” Jason stated flatly.

“So you’re both cheating on your girlfriends with each other?” Will asked trying to keep his own feelings of disapproval to himself. It really was none of his business after all.

“Shit no!” Percy exclaimed, “God, could you imagine if I cheated on Annabeth?”

“She would fucking kill you!” Leo replied with a chuckle.

“Slowly,” Jason added seriously.

“If you were lucky,” Nico stated with clear amusement.

Will pointed between Jason and Percy thoughtlessly “But you're…..”

“Fucking like bunnies?” Nico supplied plainly before answering the question. “Yes, they are.”

“Annabeth and Piper know,” Jason explained.

“They’re cool with it,” Percy added.

Will gaped at them, positive he couldn’t have heard them right. “I know, it boggles the mind doesn’t it,” Leo commented casually. “I have a theory. Their girlfriends are so understanding because while these two idiots are stuck in here, they’re out there getting cozy with each other.”

Percy and Jason exchanged a look before declaring in unison, “We’re okay with that.” They answered like they had really given it some thought.

Nico rolled his eyes and shook his head disapprovingly. “I really don’t get straight guys obsession with two girls,” he mused. “If they’re lesbians, they by definition don’t want you. And if it’s a threesome, well, it’s my understanding most men struggle to please one girl I don’t see how a second girl to disappoint is all that appealing.”

“Dude, you're saying you wouldn’t be interested in a threesome with two other guys?” Percy asked doubtfully. Will put a mental foot down and refused to let his brain take a ride down that train of thought.

“Why am I not surprised you’re coming out pro-threesome, Jackson?” Nico asked with a grin.

Jason seemed to give the topic some thought before inquiring, “I thought you said Annabeth had seemed more into Luke-”

“Dude,” Percy cut Jason off sharply, “Shut up or I swear the only action you’ll be seeing for the rest of your stay in this pit will be from your own hand,” Percy threatened. Will would bet he would follow through on that if the seriousness of his expression was any indication. He turned back toward Nico and pointed at him before demanding, “Answer the fucking question”

“It would depend on the two guys,” Nico admitted casually. “But really that’s comparing apples and oranges,” Nico smirked wickedly, “It’s pretty easy to get a guy off.”

Nico winked at him, and Will again choked on his own water. All the time he had spent worrying about how he was going to get through eight months in this place, Will realized had been useless. He wasn’t going to make it through his first meal thanks to Emo Boy. As Leo patted his back again Will could hear Nico snicker under his breath.

“Whoa, you alright there,” Jason asked sounding genuinely concerned.

“Yeah,” Will coughed again although not as hard as before, “Just not used to ……” He gestured around the table feebly. What the hell was he supposed to call this?

“Give it a week,” Leo promised, “You’ll be able to sit here stone-faced while they talk about some seriously depraved shit.” Will found that hard to believe, growing up in the south he was used to manners above all else. You certainly didn’t talk about sex at the dinner table.

One question still was still nagging at him. Will knew better than to ask. He knew if he asked he would look too interested, which he was, but they- Nico didn’t need to know that. But he couldn’t stop himself, he had to know. “So you two,” He gestured between Nico and Percy, “Used to date.”

“After that whole conversation and the mention of possible girl on girl action, and that’s what you took away?” Leo commented with a disapprovingly, “We are going to have to work on your priorities.”

Will kicked himself mentally, he shouldn’t have asked. “Um,” he muttered as he felt a blush creep up his neck.

“No, Nico doesn’t date. He conquers and moves on”, Percy replied plainly. “We hooked up once a few years ago.”

“Yuck,” Nico exclaimed making a disgusted face. “Have you ever done something that before you did it you thought it was such a great idea and then after it was done you just were left to wonder why you ever thought that it was a good idea?”

Will blinked at the question. “I’m here” He pointed out as an answer.

“Right,” Nico shrugged before explaining, “Well, that’s hooking up with Percy is for me.”

“Dude,” Percy exclaimed, “It wasn’t that bad.”

Nico grinned at Percy before shooting Will a playful expression. “I mentioned the worse blow job of my life, right?”

“You are such a fucking asshole,” Percy replied with a good-natured laugh.

“You say that like its news,” Nico replied with a smug smile.

Will turned to Leo. “They’re always like this?” He questioned skeptically.

“Pretty much,” Leo replied. “Like I said you get used to it,” he reiterated. “I’ve literally sat here while they had a twenty-minute conversation about rimming once. I didn’t even bat an eyelash,” He explained before adding, “Oh, and if you don’t know what rimming is please God, don’t ask!”

Will didn’t need to ask, and he couldn’t stop blushing. His face burned with the mere mention. Next to him, Nico snickered. Will heard him mutter under his breath “I think he knows.” Will wanted to bury his face in his hands and hide. He could just imagine what he looked like, he was probably the color of a tomato.

“Sorry Will,” Jason offered sympathetically, “I guess we can be a bit much. We’re just known each other for a really long time, so I guess we forget,” He explained, “So what about you? You have a girlfriend or anything outside of this little slice of paradise.”

Wow, today really wasn’t his day, Will observed. Of course, Jason had to ask that, and it’s not like he could just not answer the question. And to make everything more uncertain, he could feet Nico eyes on him, waiting for a response. Normally, he would have gone with a non-committal but truthful answer, like no because he didn’t have a girlfriend. But Nico knew he was gay, did Will want the cute bad boy to know he was single? “No, nothing like that.”

Will could have sworn that Nico gave him a satisfied smirk. Of course, the guy seemed to smirk every other minute, and each one had its own meaning, so Will could have just imagined it. Then again, if he didn’t imagine it, what did that mean? God damn, Will thought, he really needed Lou Ellen and maybe therapy.

“Single huh?” Leo asked, “Use to know what that was like.”

“Oh god, please don’t start” Percy groaned.

“Wow,” Nico exclaimed clearly surprised, “Since when does Valdez have a girlfriend?”

Percy rolled his eyes. “Since last mouth.”

“When he was out for all of _two days_ ” Jason noted.

“Her name is Calypso, and she is amazing” Leo exclaimed with a large smile.

“Wait a minute,” Nico intervened with a curious expression, “Percy, didn’t you date a girl named Calypso for a hot second?”

“I did,” Percy admitted with a heavy sigh, “And it’s the same Calypso.”

“Dating one of Jackson’s hand-me-downs,” Nico shook his head disappointedly, “Really, Valdez?”

“You’re one of Jackson’s hand-me-downs,” Leo pointed out flatly. He glared at Nico heatedly, the comment was clearly not appreciated.

“Hey, no need to get defensive,” Nico replied clearly not phased by the anger directed at him from Leo, “I’m just saying you could do better that’s all.”

The heat drained from Leo’s expression, and his impish grin returned. “Well, that may be true,” he commented. “But you won’t let me date your sister, so I had to move on.”

The roles reversed, and this time Nico glared at Leo. Will had to admit Nico’s glare was a lot more intimidating then Leo’s. Will was glad not to be one the receiving end of it. Nico kept his fire-y gaze on Leo but held out a hand to Will. He asked, “Will, can I borrow your fork?”

“Yeah, I’m going to say no,” Will replied pulling his silverware out of Nico’s reach, “For Leo’s safety.”

“That’s probably wise,” Percy commented.

“Dude, you need to lighten up,” Leo laughed “Doesn’t your sister have an Asian thing now?” Nico reached for Jason’s silverware this time, but the blonde was prepared for the action. Jason pulled his cutlery out of Nico’s reach. Leo chuckled at the scene “On that note, I’ve got to head to individual.”

“What time is it?” Percy asked looking toward the clock on the wall. “Fuck, I’ve got landscaping duty,” Percy exclaimed. He looked toward Will with a serious expression. “Don’t get in trouble around here or they’ll give chores.”

Nico made a show of stretching and grinned at Percy. “I could use a nap,” he declared with a fake yawn.

“You’re such a fucking asshole,” Percy commented with amusement in Nico’s direction.

“I guess I should do homework,” Jason stated. He looked toward Will and offered. “Will I can show you a short cut to your room since I’m going that way.”

“That would be awesome,” Will agreed trying to hide his enthusiasm. It was ridiculous how excited he was to be shown the way back to his room. Will really wasn’t sure he would find his way back on his own.

As a group, they got up and disposed of their trash and trays before walking out of the cafeteria. Once in the hallway, Percy and Leo split off and started in another direction. 

“See ya later, Will” Leo shouted out as he walked down the hall. He didn’t bother to look back. “Don’t touch my stuff.”

“Okay?” Will replied weakly, unsure of what else he was supposed to say to that.

Percy turned around and started walking backward as he called back with a suggestive grin. “Jason, see you later.”

“Dude, I seriously have homework” Jason replied sound a bit disappointed.

“Oh come on!” Percy called back with the same suggestive grin, clearly undeterred by Jason and his homework, “I’m way more fun than homework.”

“Maybe,” Jason replied uncertainly.

“Yeah, see you later, Jason,” Percy stated like he had won before turning back around and walking forward again.

As Percy and Leo turned a corner leaving Will with Jason and Nico Will heard Jason sigh “I swear he is more demanding then Piper.”

Out of the corner of Will’s eye, he saw Nico pat Jason on the shoulder before declaring mockingly, “Oh yeah poor baby having all that sex. I feel so bad for you.”

Jason shrugged off Nico’s hand and started walking. He pointed down the hall and told Will “There is a back staircase this way, that is a bit of a short cut” He noticed Jason glance over his shoulder at Nico who was following half a step behind them “And I know you won’t get it, but occasionally I’d like to just do my homework and maybe cuddle.”

Nico scuffed dismissively, and Will figured he wasn’t the cuddling type. Shame, he thought, but at least that was something he could focus on. Will was a cuddler, or he thought he would be. Maybe that would help him deny the attraction he felt toward the mysterious boy.

To Jason, Will asked maybe a bit more curious than he should have been, “Are you and Percy roommates?”

“They wish,” Nico commented.

“No, we are not roommates,” Jason replied with a shrug, “But you’ll notice after a while security around here is lacking. You can find a private spot if you’re motivated enough.”

“And they are motivated quite frequently,” Nico informed with a suggestive tone before adding, “See ya Jason, Golden Boy.”

“It’s Will,” Will turned to correct Nico just waved at him before stepping through a doorway and disappearing. The door wasn’t marked, but Will thought he remembered Brunner saying all the rooms were on the second through fourth floors. In confusion, he asked, “Where’s he going?”

“It’s Nico, so no one really knows,” Jason replied with a shrugged as he pointed toward the staircase at Will’s right. “He has his own way of navigating this place,” Jason explained as they walked up to the stairs, “Sometimes I swear it’s like he can walk through shadows.”

“Right,” Will said because he felt like he should say something.

As they exited the staircase on the second floor Jason sighed. “So I feel like I should say sorry again,” he stated before explaining, “I remember how overwhelming everything was my first day in this place, and I’m sure we didn’t make that any better for you.”

“No,” Will denied as they walked down the hall. It was kind of a lie. He felt like he had been hit with a lot of unexpected information at once, but that wasn’t completely their fault. Also, as they walked, Will realized he had no idea where he was, and if it wasn’t for Jason he would probably never find his room. “You guys have been great.”

“Hey, I’m not saying we aren’t fucking awesome!” Jason declared with a bit of an amused laugh, “I’m just admitting we, in and of ourselves, can be a jarring experience.”

He wasn’t wrong about that, Will admitted to himself. He had never really met people like them before. He gave Jason a quick glance before asking curiously. “So you guys are really always like that?”

“More or less,” Jason admitted, “Leo was a bit more tame then he typically, and Nico was laying it on a bit more thick with the asshole act than usual, but that’s to be expected.”

“Uh-hu,” Will hummed because he didn’t trust himself to use his actual words. _If that wasn’t what Nico was normally like, then what was he normally like? Why was his behavior to be expected? Was he into blondes?_

“But in all seriousness, you’re pretty lucky,” Jason stated, “Leo’s a pretty great roommate. We roomed together before.”

“That’s good to know,” Will nodded. What about Nico? Will’s brain all but screamed. He tried to ignore it because that wasn’t a subtle question, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it. After a long pause, Will couldn’t take it anymore, “What about Percy and Nico?”

Jason stopped, and Will did the same about a half a step later. Jason grinned, and if Will had to describe the expression the other guy was wearing he would have called it pride. “I might be a little bias about those two,” he admitted, “But if you can get past Percy’s impulsivity and Nico’s pathological need to push everyone away, they are actually the two best friends a guy could ask for.”

“Well, I guess you’re lucky then,” Will replied. 

“I guess,” Jason replied. “You know I’ll let you in on a little secret. This place isn’t nearly as bad as it should be, especially if you hang with the right people,” he smiled, “So just stick with us.” Almost as an afterthought, Jason pointed at the door they had stopped next to, “This is you by the way.”

“Really?” Will exclaimed with surprise as he turned to the door. The number was right. Will knew he would have walked right past it. “Damn, thanks.”

“Not a problem,” Jason laughed. “We all struggled at first, even Nico, although he lies about now,” he gave a bit of a wave. “See ya tomorrow.”

So one day down, Will thought as he pushed through the door of his room. That meant he had seven months, and twenty-nine days left to go and already nothing was going as planned, and that wasn’t a bad thing.


	4. Chapter 4

Nico di Angelo could be described as a great many things, but a morning person wasn’t one of them. He had always been that way, and at home it wasn’t a big problem. Out of shame or some other emotion Nico hadn’t labeled yet, his father let him do whatever he wanted. School wasn’t really his thing, not that Nico wasn’t smart, the structure of traditional school just never worked for him. So he would usually show up to classes whenever he woke up.

Brunner knew all of this after so many stays in the last five or six years there was no way the man didn’t know. Nico would swear that was why he was always assigned to morning group. Because that’s what Nico wanted to deal with first thing in the morning- group fucking therapy.

Nico grumbled and cursed everyone in existence as he crawled out of bed. He cracked his eyes against the early morning light streaming in through his window. He dressed without really looking at what he was grabbing. That was the benefit of wearing only one color, everything matched.

He stumbled down to the first floor heading toward the medical dispensary blinking hard against all the light. Coffee might have been forbidden in Olympus because it was an addictive substance, but you could have all the pharmaceuticals you wanted as long as you had a prescription. Well, that or you had to know the right people, but that was a different issue and not the type of drugs Nico was currently looking for.

The drug dispensary was little more than a window built into a wall outside the medical supply closet. For those who took prescription medications all they had to do was walk up to the window and say their name. A registered nurse would hand over whatever meds they were supposed to have. Ironically, it was one of the few rooms in the place Nico hadn’t been in because it was one of the few rooms in the place that had a functional lock. Leo could probably pick the thing, but Nico had never been motivated enough to ask. Drugs weren’t really his thing.

Three floors from his room, and Nico was still blinking hard against the bright morning light combined with the oppressive fluorescents. _Why did this hell hole have so many fucking windows_ , Nico cursed. 

He turned a corner, starting down the hallway toward the dispensary still blinking and cursing and promptly walked into a wall. _Since when was there a fucking wall there_ , Nico wondered angrily. Then the wall snickered, and Nico realized it wasn’t a wall at all, it was a fucking person. _Fantastic_.

“Whoa, you alright there?” The wall that was actually some god-damned asshole who was in his fucking way first thing in the morning asked good-naturedly. _Who was so fucking chipper that early in the fucking morning_ , Nico wondered? _For that matter who was fucking chipper in Olympus?_

Nico groaned loudly and blinked harder in an attempt to figure out who he was dealing with. Despite his effort, all he could make out was big and broad, so it could be of the athletes or roid-heads. “Fuck yes!” he hissed at the wall-person. “I’m fine, no thanks to you” He growled at the guy angrily. It wasn’t hard to find the motivation; _it was too damned early for this shit_. “Where the fuck did you learn to walk anyway?”

“Tennessee,” The figure replied with amusement. Nico forced himself to blink hard a few times until he could make out who was standing in front of him. _Fuck_ , Nico thought, it was fucking Golden Boy. It was too early, and Golden Boy was too pretty. He shrugged his broad shoulders, “Not that it’s relevant since you walked into me.”

“Well I mistook you for a damn wall,” Nico hissed. This could be a good thing he realized. If he spewed enough of his usual morning attitude Golden Boy would probably begin to avoid him like the plague, and Nico wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore. “I thought they made ‘em bigger in Texas, not Tennessee.”

Blonde’s jaw worked like he wanted to say something. Nico had yet to get this guy completely figured out yet so he was interested to see what it would be. Unfortunately, whoever was manning the medication dispensary had different plans. “Next” Called a gruff male voice and Nico was surprised he didn’t recognize it. He thought he knew all the employees in the place, so this guy must have been new.

Golden Boy turned and approached the dispensary window. Nico leaned against the wall by the window because he was tired and standing took too much energy. It absolutely had nothing to do with wanting to see Golden Boy’s crystal blue eyes a little more. Absolutely nothing.

“Name?” The disembodied voice of the male nurse asked.

“William Solace.” Golden Boy replied. The nurse didn’t say anything in response, but a small cup with one pink capsule appeared on the counter.

After so many stays at Olympus Nico could identify a variety of medications from simple sight. He could probably do so more reliably than your average pharmacist. Even if he didn’t have that skill, he would have recognized the little pink capsule. “Adderall huh?” he commented, “No better way to start your day.” Golden Boy gave him a disapproving look like Nico was invading his privacy by merely recognizing the medication or maybe that look was shame. “I’m serious, shit’s almost as good as coffee.”

“Whatever” Golden Boy grumbled with clear discomfort. He grabbed the small cup off the counter and turned as if he planned to walk away.

Before Nico could stop him the gruff voice of the nurse behind the window cut through the silence. “Hey cupcake, where do you think you’re going?”

Golden Boy stopped and turned to look at the nurse with clear confusion. “What?”

 _God_ , Nico wondered, _had he ever been so clueless_? Still leaning casually against the wall, he gave Golden Boy a sympathetic look. “You have to take all class one prescriptions in front of the dispenser” he explained, “That way they can verify you actually took it and didn’t sell it to one of your fellow delinquents for recreational use.”

Golden Boy’s expression changed to one of frustration. “I can’t even get a glass of water?”

 _Serious_ , Nico mused. If the guy wasn’t so sweet and innocent, he would think he was doing this shit on purpose. “Sorry Sunshine, you’re just going to have to swallow,” Nico informed with a suggestive grin.

Golden Boy blushed crimson which was so adorable it should have been illegal. Nico wondered if Will was one of those guys that blushed with his whole body. _Dear god, what’s wrong with me?_ Nico cursed himself as he carefully pushed that thought out of his mind.

Will recovered from his embarrassment, tossed the pill into his mouth and swallowed hard. Nico watched Golden Boy’s Adam’s apple bob with the effort. _Fuck, think about cheerleaders di Angelo_ , Nico told himself.

“Am I good now?” Golden Boy asked the nurse sharply.

“All set cupcake,” The male nurse replied gruffly.

“Fantastic,” Will commented flatly. He turned on his heels and headed down the hall. He tossed his empty pill cup in the trash as he left.

Nico watched him until he turned a corner and was out of sight. Then he rolled off the wall to slouch on the counter in front of the window. “di-” Nico began but stopped as the nurse dropped a cup on the counter in front of him.

“What can I say cupcake,” The male nurse commented. Nico looked up to really take the guy in. He was shorter than his voice implied. He had a small beard and dark curly hair. Nico could make out a potbelly under the counter. All-in-all the guy looked more like a gym teacher than a nurse. The name tag pinned to his shirt read HEDGE. “I’ve been warned about you.”

Nico looked down at the little cup filled with a trail mix of pharmaceuticals before grinning up humorlessly at Nurse Hedge “Clearly not well enough.” Nico proceeded to spill the multi-colored contents of the cup on to the counter. “Let’s see what we have here,” Nico started as he looked down at the pills. He separated two white oval shaped pills from the pile, “Xanax for anxiety. I’ve got to be honest, I’m not feeling all that anxious.” Using his thumb and middle finger, Nico flicked the two pills off the counter back toward the nurse. Next, he separated two green and white capsules “Prozac, an anti-depressant. Do I seem depressed to you?” Nico flicked those off the counter too. Nico snickered as he indicated two mint green pills, “Risperidone, an antipsychotic, really? I’m perfectly happy with my mood swings, thanks.” The green pills were flicked off the counter leaving only two yellow pills “Finally, something of fucking use,” Nico tossed the pills in his mouth and swallowed, “Ritalin may be a bit retro, but it gets the job done.” He smiled mockingly at Nurse Hedge. “Well, that was fun,” he declared. “How about we try this again, say same time tomorrow?”

Nico turned and walked down the hall toward the counseling room. Much to Nico’s surprise, when he turned the first corner, he found Will leaning against the wall waiting for him.

“That seemed unnecessary,” The blonde declared disapprovingly.

“True, but it was fun,” Nico shrugged casually as he kept walking. Unfortunately, Golden Boy decided to follow him. _God, the guy does not take a hint_ , Nico thought. “What exactly are we talking about again?”

“Does it matter?” Golden Boy asked skeptically.

“Not really,” Nico admitted.

 _Maybe I’m sending mixed signals_ , Nico thought. His feelings about the guy were certainly mixed.

He stopped and turned so he could grin predatorily at the tall blonde. “Did you need something? Directions maybe?” He leaned into Golden Boy’s space slightly and tried to ignore how Will smelled like coconut. Nico let his grin twist from devilish to suggestive before he asked. “Or were you hoping to get a little advice on swallowing?”

Golden Boy shuffled back half a step, averted his eyes, and rubbed at the back of his neck nervously. _Success_ , Nico thought. “I can’t tell if this is just your personality or if you’re purposefully trying to mess with me.” Golden Boy grumbled.

Nico shrugged “It’s a bit of both.”

Golden Boy looked at him with shock at what was clearly an unexpected confession. The surprise quickly turned to something else as a heat appeared in the blonde’s tranquil blue eyes. “Fine, whatever. Just get on with it already,” Will practically growled at him. Nico had been so focused on how easy-going and innocent the guy seemed he had forgotten he was in Olympus for a reason. Golden Boy had broken another guy’s nose, so he was capable of violence, Nico was going to have to be more thoughtful to remember that in the future. “Cause this little game you’re playing as a lead-up or whatever isn’t appreciated.”

“Oh, Sunshine the game is all there is,” Nico replied casually. As much as he wanted to act like he knew all, he was too curious not to ask. “What exactly do you think I’m going to do?”

The heat had disappeared, and Golden Boy’s eyes were once again calm pools of blue. Will returned to being the bashful guy Nico had noticed sitting outside of Brunner’s office the day before. “Out me,” Will muttered once again avoiding direct eye contact.

Nico laughed at that, which even he would admit was kind of an asshole move. “Oh, Sunshine you should really thank your parents for making you pretty because clearly, they didn’t bless you with an overabundance of intelligence,” Nico declared, “I’m not going to out you. This hell hole is bad enough without going out of our way to make it worse for one another” He explained. “If you want to shove yourself in the closet for your stay, that’s your choice” he shrugged. “I think it’s fucking stupid, but it’s your choice.”

“You could have fooled me yesterday.” Golden Boy stated and it sounded more like an accusation than anything. Nico ignored the sinking feeling of regret that started to creep up. It was for the best that this guy think he was a complete asshole, Nico reminded himself.

“Those fucking idiots are oblivious,” Nico waved off the idea like it was nothing. Jason and Percy had many skills but neither of them are exactly Nancy Drew “The only way they’ll figure it out is if you literally spelled it out.”

“Then why do you keep messing with me?” He asked, clear confusion coloring the edge of his voice.

“Because you make it easy,” Nico admitted with a shrug “And it amuses me.”

Golden Boy blinked at him as he processed that information. “So pretty much what you’re saying is you’re an asshole,” He summarized sounding like he still didn’t believe it.

Nico grinned wickedly at the other boy. “And if anyone told you different Sunshine you should kick their ass cause they’re a lying bastard,” He declared with pride as he patted Will on the chest. Nico carefully ignored how Will was clearly nothing but muscle under his t-shirt. He gave the guy a sympathetic look before turning on his heels and walking away. Nico wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed when he realized Will wasn’t following him.

As he made his way toward the reception area, he carefully pushed away any and all thoughts of Golden Boy: his caramel skin, the spray of freckles across his cheeks, his bright eyes, his clearly strong arms. Nico carefully thought about none of those things.

The reception area was technically off-limits to the residences of Olympus, but Nico never paid much attention to rules and staff rarely enforced that one. He found Reyna sitting behind the front desk looking bored. Considering it wasn’t a visitor day and new residences only checked in on weekends there couldn’t have been much for her to do.

She had her boot-clad feet propped up on the front desk as she read through a thick textbook, her lips actually moving as she read. Her long dark hair was pulled back in its traditional braid. Nico walked up quietly in an attempt to sneak up and give that braid a tug before the girl realized he was there.

“You’re not supposed to be up here di Angelo,” Reyna declared just as Nico reached out his hand to pull her braid. She hadn’t even looked up from her book, Nico always wondered how she managed to do stuff like that.

“Reyna, my all-time favorite person,” Nico declared slouching on the counter around the front desk.

“I’d be flattered if I hadn’t met the competition,” Reyna retorted dryly as she slipped a piece of paper in between the pages of her book to act as a bookmark before she set it down on the desk.

“Their inadequacies are hardly my fault and certainly doesn’t detract from my admiration of you,” Nico replied with a smile.

Reyna examined him critically for a moment before grinning. “Laying it on thick,” she noted, “If you were straight I’d say you were trying to get in my pants, but since we both know you’re about as straight as a Ferris wheel I’m going to guess you want something.”

“You can just read me like an open book,” Nico declared, “You're just too smart for me.”

“What do you want Nico?” Reyna asked with an amused laugh.

“Coffee” Nico admitted hoping his desperation didn’t read in his voice.

“Ha,” Reyna laughed dismissively, “You’ve got to be joking.”

“No,” Nico replied, “I know there’s a coffee maker in the staff area. Just run back and steal me a cup”

“Just run back and get you a cup of scolding hot liquid you could throw in someone’s face?” Reyna asked. Nico thought that was pretty extreme. As much as he joked around, Nico never aggressed someone unless they provoked him first. “I don’t think so.”

“Reyna please!” Nico begged “I can already feel the caffeine headache coming on and I have to go and listen to people bitch about their petty fucking problems. If I don’t have caffeine, I may become suicidal.” Reyna gave him a doubtful look. “Fine, homicidal,” Nico begrudgingly corrected. “I promise I’ll keep my fluids to myself,” He couldn’t stop himself from grinning at his own comment. “Come on, we both know that’s a promise I don’t make often.”

“And you probably keep it even less,” Reyna sighed resigned before pulling a large iced coffee out of seemingly nowhere. “Luckily, I thought ahead.”

“You’re a goddess, you deserve temples built in your honor,” Nico declared quickly snatching the cup off the counter. He took a long sip through a straw and moaned with pleasure at the bitter taste. “If you were a guy, the things I would do to thank you right now.”

Reyna laughed. “Good thing I’m not so you don’t have to resort to whoring yourself for coffee.”

“Whored myself for worse,” Nico joked absently before taking another long sip.

Reyna gave him a disapproving look but said nothing. “You want to thank me? Don’t get me fired.” She made a shooing gesture. “And get to group already.”

“Yes, my queen,” Nico stated as he took a few steps back from the desk and made a show of bowing before he leaving.

When Nico arrived at group, he was close to ten minutes late and his coffee was half gone. He could care less about being late, but he was a little sad to see the coffee gone. Nothing was really different about the therapy room from what he remembered from his previous stays. The space was mostly empty except for the chairs that were arranged in a large circle. Most of the chairs were currently occupied by other residents of Olympus, several of whom Nico recognized. Of course, Percy, Jason, and Leo were there, and it looked like Percy had saved him a seat. Will was there too, sitting next to Leo, but it wasn’t like Nico cared if Will was there or not.

As he strolled in, Nico wasn’t blind to the way most of other the other boys glared at him. Nico didn’t care but he also didn’t really understand why so as he slouched in the chair next to Percy he leaned over and asked: “So what’s got everybody’s panties in a bunch?”

Percy reached over and pulled the half-drunken cup of coffee closer so he could take a sip. Normally Nico didn’t share, but it was Percy, so he allowed it. “Oh, sweet caffeinated goodness,” he sighed contently before replying. “We had to wait for you to get here before we could start.”

 _Oh_ , Nico thought, _that explains it_. Nico gave another look around the circle of angry delinquents. He gave them a cocky smirk before declaring with fake gratitude. “You didn’t have to do that for little old me.”

“Why the fuck was he assigned to morning group?” Bryce hissed, looking toward Brunner. Bryce Lawrence was one of the roid-heads and one of Octavian’s former flunkies. He was also one of Olympus’ repeat customers and not like Nico, Percy, or Jason. While Nico, Percy, and Jason were your teen trouble-makers, Bryce was a damn sociopath. Nico would put money on the sadistic fuck ending up in prison for homicide within a year of his eighteenth birthday. “You know he’s never going to show up on fucking time.”

“Took the argument right out of my mouth, I’m impressed,” Nico commented with thick condescension directed at the meathead. Most people steered clear of Bryce due to the serious serial killer vibe the guy had going for him, but it didn’t intimidate Nico. Maybe that was because he knew Bryce wouldn’t dare touch him. So when Bryce glared at him Nico just grinned back at him. “No really, I am. I know stringing together a coherent sentence can be hard for you.”

Brunner coughed loudly interrupting the side conversations and bickering. The group quieted down although Bryce continued to glare daggers in Nico’s direction. Nico continued to grin back at him victoriously because life was too short not to gloat over the little victories. “Alright, now that everyone is here why don’t we get started,” Brunner started. “I thought today would be a good time to discuss conflict resolution strategies,” Everyone around the circle began to groan and grumble. Nico couldn’t agree with the complaints more, the last thing he wanted to talk about first thing in the morning was I-feel statements.

“Could we not?” Austin questioned hopefully. Austin was a nice enough guy, he had done a few rounds at Olympus so Nico knew that much. He was one of the trust fund kids who got busted selling ecstasy. The rumor was that was just one of the kid’s many businesses, apparently, he also ran a ring of underground raves in the city. Nico always figured the guy ended up in Olympus on purpose, it was a great place to pick up some new clients. “I mean,” The guy looked in Nico’s direction before offering, “No offense.” He returned to addressing the group. “We do this every time di Angelo shows up.” He turned his attention to Brunner. “Can’t you address his anger because daddy didn’t hug him enough during his individual sessions?”

“Hey,” Nico exclaimed in fake outrage, “Don’t blame my aggressive tendencies on daddy issues,” He grinned devilishly “I’m promiscuous because of daddy issues. My aggression is a result of growing up in a society that glorifies violence with little adult supervision,” He corrected, “Get it right.”

“Dude, you could always fuck a black guy,” Percy commented to Nico jokingly. “Isn’t that what rich white girls do when they want to get back at daddy?”

Nico grinned wickedly back at Percy. “You honestly think I haven’t?”

“Nice,” Percy nodded with approval before offering a hand in the air for a high five. Nico accepted, slapping his hand against Percy’s. Next to Percy, Jason grumbled something. Nico couldn’t make out the words but figured knowing Jason it was something slightly disapproving.

“Never mind, forget I said anything,” Austin declared with a resigned sigh. “Let’s talk about conflict resolution.”

“Anything would be better than being subjected to more of their filth,” Ethan, another one of Octavian’s former flunkies (and Luke’s before that), hissed. Unlike the roid-head Bryce, Ethan was a trust-fund kid through and through even though he tried to play at being a street kid. The guy wasn’t even religious, he just thrived on conflict and wasn’t above trying a variety of angles to cause one. “You know you’re going burn in hell for your depravity.”

Nico just shrugged. He had heard worse and he wasn’t going to let an asshole like Ethan get a rise on him. “At least I’m enjoying the ride down.”

“You fucking fagots fucking disgust me,” Bryce spat apparently unable to resist jumping on Ethan’s bandwagon.

“No one asked for your fucking opinion,” Someone growled. The voice was so unfamiliar Nico had to look around to figure out who had spoken. It wasn’t who he would have ever had expected Sweet, easily flustered southern boy Will was glaring red-faced at the roid-head like he was ready to take a swing at the guy. He was cute when he was all flustered and blushing, but he was fucking hot angry.

Bryce let out a humorless laugh looking Will over like gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe. “Should have figured, another fucking fag,” he declared dismissively.

“Yeah, actually I am,” Will spat back. “Got a problem with that?”

Nico blinked at the unexpected turn of events. The same guy who had cornered him this very morning afraid Nico was going to out him had just outed himself after coming to Nico’s defense. If the guy kept this up, he was going to give Nico whiplash.

“Now boys,” Brunner started in an attempt to interrupt the escalating conflict.

“Yeah I do,” Bryce shouted back at Will completely ignoring Brunner, which wasn’t really all that surprising. Bryce and Will seemed locked in a glare stalemate. Both boys were visibly wound and ready for a fight but seem to be waiting for the other to make a move.

Nico rolled his eyes at the display before bringing his fingers to his mouth and whistling loudly to catch everyone’s attention. It seemed to work at least somewhat. “Boys, as much as I normally enjoy such a manly display, now is not the time,” He declared doing his best to look mildly bored with the whole situation. After all, normally he would be, the only difference here was the involvement of the cute new guy, and that shouldn’t matter. He was Nico-fucking-di Angelo, he didn’t _do_ crushes. He looked down in Will’s direction before advising with a grin. “And really there is no point in arguing with a self-loathing homophobic closet case, so don’t waste your energy.”

“What did you just call me?” Bryce growled, his anger now focused solely on Nico. That was for the best, Nico thought. Bryce may want to murder him, but he wouldn’t dare actually touch him, that wasn’t true for Will though.

“Come on,” Nico gave Bryce a cocky grin. “Everyone knows you were Octavian’s little bitch.” He explained making sure to speak extra slowly so Bryce wouldn’t get lost. “You can’t tell me you didn’t let him bend you over at least once.”

“Fucking little…” Bryce hissed, anger flaring in his eyes. He shot to his feet, reminding everyone he was built like a fucking tank and looked ready to charge.

A lot happened at once then and Nico couldn’t say in which order they occurred. Nico, Jason, Percy, and Will were all on their feet, as was Michael, another former Octavian follower, although he seemed more interested in pulling Bryce back then egging him forward. 

“I got your backs bros,” Leo declared although he was still sitting in his chair playing with bits of wire, he must have had hidden in his many pockets. Nico didn’t take offense, Leo had plenty of talents, fighting wasn’t one of them.

“That’s enough!” Brunner declared firmly, “Everyone sit down!”

The tension hung in the air for a moment. Bryce backed down first dropping into his seat grumbling about the “Fucking Fags”. Jason, Percy, and Will followed suit. Nico was the last to drop back into his chair, he didn’t need people thinking he was hiding behind other people to fight his battles, he wasn’t like fucking Octavian. It was bad enough that some people thought he hid behind his father’s name.

Next ten minutes of group consisted of an angry lecture from Brunner about how group counseling was supposed to be a safe space. Nico didn’t doubt that was true in some voluntary mental health facility but not here. The rest was less group therapy and more a lesson about managing aggression and avoiding conflict. The whole time Bryce was glaring at Nico with murder in his eyes. Nico wasn’t impressed or concerned, considering how Bryce was when Octavian had been around, he was honestly surprised that he had been the first one to suggest they had been fucking.

After group was school because school and learning was a year-around thing at Olympus. It wasn’t as bad as it sounded because classes in Olympus were nothing like they were in a normal high school.

Nico had read the brochure to Olympus once, and they had called it self-directed learning which was meant to allow each student to “tackle material at their own learning pace”. Nico called it the administration of this place were too cheap to actually hire and pay teachers. After all, teachers were expensive, they needed certifications and shit. Plus, what teacher actually wanted to work at a school for at-risk youth? Nico would bet money that was only the shitty ones.

The way it worked was pretty simple, when you arrived at Olympus you were assigned a block. Your block really just told you what classroom to show up in each day, what you worked on while you were there was up to you. Each subject was broken into smaller units. Each unit had an outline, readings, and activities. When you finished everything for a unit you took a test or completed a projected. If you passed you moved on to the next unit, and if you failed, you had to do the whole unit over again.

The whole structure, or lack thereof, worked well for Nico. He worked through units in most subjects more quickly than was typical. Actually, he did far better with the self-directed shit than he ever did in traditional high school. But from watching everyone around him he figured the method of teaching had about a 50/50 success rate. Jason, like Nico, did well while Leo and Percy barely got anything done.

He had gotten blocked with Percy which was cool enough and helped the time go by pretty quickly. After morning block, he and Percy walked together to the cafeteria where they found Jason and Leo sitting at their usual table.

Percy dropped into a chair next to Jason (no shocker there) while Nico sat across from him. “Where’s Will?” Percy asked looking around. Nico wasn’t annoyed by that question at all. There were only two class blocks so if Golden Boy wasn’t blocked with Percy and himself, he would have been blocked with Jason and Leo. It was a natural assumption that Golden Boy would be with them. And it wasn’t like Nico was relieved he wasn’t around….

“He had individual counseling,” Jason replied with a shrug as he pushed an extra plate in front of Percy. It was adorable how couple-y they were considering they weren’t actually a couple. Nico was going to say something to that effect when Jason tossed a bag of chips at him and he decided it would be wise to remain silent.

“So right about now he is listening to Brunner give him the violence is never the answer speech,” Leo predicted with a grin. They had all probably been on the receiving end of that speech a few times, even Leo, so Nico understood the amusement. It was practically a right of initiation.

Jason pushed some of his own food around on his plate thoughtfully before adding. “And considering his confession during group that will probably be followed by a review of the fraternization rules.”

“Dude, I got to admit I hadn’t seen that coming. I just didn’t get the gay vibe from him, ya know?” Percy commented as he happily started picking away at his Jason-provided lunch. Nico decided this conversation was of little interest to him as he popped open his own bag of chips. After all, Golden Boy’s sexuality was old news to him, and it wasn’t like Nico cared or had been thinking about it.

“Might want to get your gaydar recalibrated dude,” Leo snickered.

“So now that it’s out,” Percy proclaimed excitedly. Nico paused a chip halfway to his mouth. There was something about Percy’s tone that made him uncomfortable. “I give it a week tops until Nico hits that,” Percy stated looking around the group, “Ten bucks, any takers?”

“I’m right here,” Nico reminded with a deep sense of annoyance.

“I’ll take that bet,” Leo stated ignoring Nico completely. _When did I become someone one people fucking casually ignored_ , Nico wondered bitterly.

“Seriously?” Percy questioned doubtfully before returning to his lunch. “Whatever, it’s your money to lose.”

“I don’t think it will happen,” Leo explained with a dismissive head shake as he picked at his lunch, “Will doesn’t seem like the random hook-up type”

“You’re just saying that because you don’t want to have to deal with them hooking up in your room,” Percy retorted with the typical Percy amused grin.

“I honestly don’t care,” Leo reiterated this time a bit more seriously (well seriously for Leo). Maybe that was Nico’s problem, he thought to himself, may be needed to start hanging out with people who could take things seriously. “They could have loud sex on my bed while I was in the room, and Will would still be a better roommate than Octavian.”

“Still _literally_ right here.” Nico pointed out again.

“You say that now,” Percy shook his head, Leo, still ignoring Nico even though he was talking about him. “But you may feel differently when that little scenario actually happens,” He pointed out before jutting a finger in Nico’s direction and adding, “You know how Nico is.”

“I’m literally right fucking here,” Nico pointed out yet again, this time with significantly more force. He dealt with enough people talking about him in front of him at home, he didn’t need that shit here. It was like he was a fucking ghost, and it was annoying as fuck! “And why just because Will’s gay, do you assume I’m going to hook up with him?”

Percy laughed “Because you’re you”

“Nic, you know how we make all those jokes about your sluttiness?” Jason questioned mockingly. “They’re so funny because they are kind of true.”

“Me? Slutty? Never,” Nico replied with heavy sarcasm as he rolled his eyes. “What can I say, I like to get off. I’m not going to apologize for that.” He shrugged like it was nothing. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to fuck around with every single available guy I meet.” Nico stopped talking, and the other three guys stared at him with a fun mix of disbelief and amusement. “I don’t!”

“Right, yeah,” Percy agreed with him. “I’m sure you’d pass if he was really unattractive or in some other was repulsive, like Octavian.” He explained. Well, at least the closest thing Nico had to friends thought enough of him to assume he wouldn’t fuck Octavian. As a testament to Nico’s standards that really wasn’t saying much but at least it was something. “But I don’t think that’s going to be an issue with Will.”

Nico couldn’t believe he was actually having this conversation. It was beyond annoying and he was blaming Golden Boy for it. Or at least he wanted to but when he thought about it he managed to turn it around on himself. _Fuck! That couldn’t be a good sign_.

 _Guys like that don’t want guys like me_ , Nico reminded himself before pushing Golden Boy from his thoughts and putting his mind solely focused on defending his own honor, what little of it he had. “Jason is neither ugly or in any other way repulsive, and I’ve never fucked around with him.” He retorted. Nico wanted to pat himself on the back for that one, it was actually a pretty good defense.

“Jason’s the exception that proves the rule,” Percy replied with a shrug.

“That makes no sense,” Nico pointed out flatly. That wasn’t even fucking fair, Nico couldn’t argue against a statement like that because it literally meant nothing.

“Yes, it does,” Percy told him, “Now stop denying your nature so I can win a bet.”

Nico knew he should just let it go but he couldn’t. Maybe it was because he was trying very hard to keep his thoughts of Golden Boy and sex separate. He may or may not have failed at that already. Either way, he didn’t need Percy running off at the mouth, as usual, making things worse. “He’s not my type,” He grumbled taking a sudden and intense interest in his bag of chips.

Percy laughed wholeheartedly. “Since when are hot blonde dudes with great tans, cute accents and giant fucking hands not your type?” He questioned with clear skepticism. “I mean have you looked at those things? They’re like the size of catcher’s mitts.”

“Wears big shoes too,” Leo offered rather unhelpfully.

Despite himself, he looked up from his chips to glare at them. What did they think, Nico hadn’t noticed these things? He wasn’t fucking blind. “What can I say?” He questioned rhetorically with a humorless grin, “I like guys with some experience, and he’s clearly still carrying his V-card.”

“Bullshit,” Percy scoffed, “I know you, di Angelo, you’d fucking love to corrupt some virgin. It would be like a personal power trip,” he stated like it was a fact you could find in any textbook which was really annoying in Nico’s opinion. A grin spread across Percy’s face as he continued to speak, “And he’s clearly interested in letting you do some corrupting.” As if his point wasn’t abundantly clear the asshole actually wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“You’re fucking delusional.” Nico dismissed as casually as he could manage. Once again, he reminded himself that guys like Will didn’t want guys like him. “He’s not interested in me.”

“Actually, I’m with Percy on this one,” Leo chimed in uninvited and unwanted, or at least that was how Nico saw it. “He’s asked more than a few less than subtle questions about you since he’s gotten here,” Leo informed him before giving a shrug. “I figured it was just because well you’re you but factoring in the new knowledge that he is gay…”

“And dude,” Percy started excitedly completely cutting Leo off, “he totally came to your defense this morning like you were an incredibly snarky damsel in distress.”

“Also, he blushes every time you talk,” Jason grumbled matter-of-factly.

“That’s probably because of the things I’m saying,” Nico retorted dismissively. Nico knew he said some pretty lewd things, it was probably pretty embarrassing to hear for someone who was clearly so pure and virtuous as Golden Boy.

Percy stared at him critically for a long moment before throwing up his hands. “Alright seriously what the fuck is really going on?”

“Nothing,” Nico grumbled taking a sudden and intense interest in his food. It didn’t look at all appetizing.

“Bullshit!” Percy exclaimed watching him critically.

“Seriously,” Nico insisted annoyed that his voice came out kind of high and screeching like he was nervous. He wasn’t nervous, he had no reason to be. “Nothing is going on.”

“Dude,” Percy started “we are telling you a hot guy is totally into you and you’re trying to talk us out of it.” Percy picked up his sandwich and took a bite. He chewed and swallowed before declaring plainly “Something is going on.”

Nico tossed his half-eaten bag of chips on the table officially done with food and groaned before admitting. “I promised Hazel I’d behave.”

“Okay, you’re going to have to define behave,” Percy stated. “Because I know Hazel doesn’t genuinely expect you to stay out of trouble.”

“Fuck Jackson!” Nico hissed. He just wanted to be done talking about this. Was this what it was going to be like for Golden Boy’s entire stay? Nico couldn’t fucking take it, he just wanted to talk about something else. “You want her exact words?” He questioned angrily “Fine, I promised to keep it in my pants, alright? Happy now?”

Nico seriously didn’t understand why he continued to associate with Jackson, and as he burst out laughing, he couldn’t think of a single reason. “Dude, why would you agree to that?” Percy questioned with more amusement than Nico really thought the situation warranted. “You’re are never going to keep that promise.”

“Fuck off,” Nico retorted darkly.

Percy continued to look amused. He nudged Jason’s shoulder and pointed at Nico like he was a circus freak. “Jason, did you hear this?”

Jason looked up from his plate and at least he wasn’t laughing. “I’m with Hazel on this” he stated with a shrug. “At least when it comes to Will”

“What?” Nico questioned a bit surprised. There were other emotions there too but Nico pushed those down, they didn’t matter. But what did he mean, _when it comes to Will_? Did he think Will was too good for him, or maybe he just didn’t really think Will was all that into him.

“Dude, you want to fuck your way through this place, I support you,” Jason explained seriously. “But Will seems like a nice enough guy. He didn’t run screaming from our insanity, and he has life goals beyond being a delinquent which is a nice change.” Jason paused and turned to Percy “No offense” he stated which actually made Nico smile a bit. He turned back to Nico wearing an expression that told him Jason had given this some actual thought. “I guess I wouldn’t mind if he stuck around and since you go out of your way to chase off all your hookups, I’m hoping you resist the urge.”

Nico stared at Jason a bit taken aback. He wasn’t exactly sure how to take any of that. Was he supposed to be offended? Should he even care? Would he have been worrying about this so much if it wasn’t about Golden Boy? Fuck! When had his life gotten so complicated?

“I want to change the bet,” Percy declared oblivious of Nico’s internal turmoil which Nico was grateful for. “I give it three days tops!”

“What the fuck!” Nico exclaimed slamming his hands down on the table because this shit was getting ridiculous. 

“Dude, now he’s forbidden fruit,” Percy explained with a shrug. “You’re so going to fuck him.”

“Said forbidden fruit just walked in,” Leo pointed out jutting his chin toward the door. “You might want to change the topic.”

Golden Boy was indeed standing in the entrance to the cafeteria looking around. Had he gotten taller and broader in the shoulders? His hair definitely looked blonder, and he had somehow gained more freckles since earlier. _Fuck_ , Nico was so screwed.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been about a week since Will had arrived at Olympus Home for At-Risk Youth, and the weirdest thing about it was how normal everything felt already. The first few days had been a bit jarring, Will couldn’t lie about that, but he had adjusted. The place really was a lot like high school in a lot of ways, and Will had years of practice at keeping his head down in that kind of environment. He was actually feeling hopeful about his ability to get through the whole experience generally unscathed and no more traumatized than he already was.

Just because he was adjusting didn’t mean he didn’t miss things and people from home. So when Mr. Brunner pulled him aside after morning group and told him he had phone privileges he had practically cried with joy. Of course, there were rules regarding phone privileges at Olympus, because as Leo, Jason, Percy, and Nico ( _DON’T think about Nico_ ) kept telling him there were stupid rules about everything in Olympus. It didn’t matter to Will, it would still be contact with the outside world.

After group counseling, Will found one of the friendlier members of staff; a younger woman with dark hair that was always in a braid who spoke with a slight Hispanic accent. Will was pretty sure her name started with an R but couldn’t quite remember it. She accompanied him to the repurposed janitor’s closet that was referred to as the “call room” and set him up at one of the two available phones. Once she dialed the one number he was currently allowed to call she left.

As Will listened to the phone ring he took a moment to assess the room. It, like most of Olympus, was largely unimpressive and a little depressing. The paint was faded and the cheap tile floor was chipped and cracked. There were no windows and the yellow light cast from the old fluorescents gave everything a sickly yellow tint. The only furniture present was one long table pressed against a wall where the phones were placed and two rickety old chairs. A flimsy wooden partition was put up in the center of the table to present the illusion of privacy.

The other phone was currently not in use which wasn’t that surprising. A large majority of the residents of Olympus couldn’t really be described as morning people, and one of the few activities that weren’t mandatory were meals, so unless they had morning group most residents skipped breakfast and slept in.

On the other end of the call, the line switched mid-ring and a slightly confused sounding female voice came in, “Hello?”

“Hey Lou,” Will greeted with a relieved sigh. He had absolutely no idea what he would have done if Lou Ellen hadn’t answered her phone. “I was starting to worry you wouldn’t answer.”

“Will!” Lou Ellen squealed happily on the other end of the line. “Oh my god! How are you? I mean how is it? What’s it like? Just tell me everything!” She spoke question after question at a rapid pace and with an excited tone. It was a bit overwhelming. Also, in true Lou fashion, it was a little loud. If anyone else had been in the room they would have definitely heard her. “And how are you calling me? I thought-”

“Just don’t ask,” He cut in. The rules were for the first month he wasn’t supposed to call anyone but his mom, Lou had read about it online and warned him before he had left. Will wasn’t one for breaking rules, but he still didn’t want to talk to his mom. He still needed contact with the outside world, so he had found a way around that particular rule.

“William, you are turning into such a rule-breaking bad boy!” Lou exclaimed with clear approval (maybe even pride). “It’s kind of hot. Too bad you’re gay.”

Lou Ellen was the first person Will had ever told he was gay. Actually, if he was being honest, she was the only person he had actually told before coming to Olympus. Everyone else had just figured it out, or well, they were told. Will really couldn’t have asked for a better, more supportive friend to come out to even if Lou could be annoying sometimes.

“There is always Cecil,” He commented jokingly, alright maybe half-jokingly. Cecil was the class trouble-maker that rounded out his little group of friends. Cecil was a huge dork, and a bit of a spaz, which was probably why he had ended up with their little band of misfits. Unlike Will who was literally just trying to get through high school and Lou Ellen who struggled with faking nice, Cecil experienced a sudden burst of popularity when they were a freshman. The reason was pretty simple, Cecil had cousins that could pretty much hook him up with whatever, so Cecil became the go-to source of booze if you were under 21. Cecil could have dropped them for cooler friends but didn’t, making Will and Lou moderately cooler by association (or at least that was the case until Will messed it up). Lou acted like Cecil was her annoying kid brother or something, but Will wouldn’t have been surprised if the two ended up dating by the end of high school (not that he ever planned to seriously tell Lou that).

“Gross asshole,” Lou laughed dismissively. The laughter faded, and they fell into a comfortable silence. It felt so much like all his other phone calls with Lou that he could almost imagine he was sitting in his bedroom putting off doing homework.

Lou Ellen broke the silence with an uncharacteristically nervous hum, “So…..?”

“What?” Will questioned as his mind broke away from his fantasizes of better days.

“Will,” Lou whined like he was being especially thick (which was much more Lou-like behavior) “I’m dying to know what’s it like!” she declared before shouting off questions, “Are cigarettes used as a form of currency? Is there someone named Red that knows how to get things?”

“Lou,” Will sighed and swallowed the majority of his annoyance, “This is real life, not television.”

“Well, T.V. is my only frame of reference,” Lou retorted clearly undeterred, “What’s your cellmate like?”

“I have a roommate, not a cellmate,” Will corrected with the little patience he had left. He was pretty sure this call was supposed to make him feel better, but the more questions Lou asked (and the more completely off base she was) the further Will felt from normal. “It’s not prison, Lou.”

“Same difference, Will!” Lou huffed impatiently on the other end of the line.

Will sighed. It wasn’t Lou’s fault he was in Olympus, and it was probably not fair that he expected her to understand the weird innerworkings of the At-Risk Youth home. “Leo’s pretty cool actually,” he informed. “I think I got pretty lucky,” he added. He hadn’t been at Olympus long, but he had already heard horror stories. Granted most of them had been from Leo about his last roommate, but they were still pretty cringe worthy

“Oh,” Lou hummed excitedly, any sign of her previous annoyance gone before she asked, “Is he cute?”

Of course, Lou had to ask that in the loudest voice humanly possible. Will shifted uncomfortably in his already uncomfortable chair to look around the small room nervously. He was still alone in the call room, and he couldn’t have been more thankful for that. “Lou!” he growled.

“What?” She asked with evident amusement, “It’s just a question.”

He rolled his eyes, he really couldn’t be mad at Lou Ellen for being Lou Ellen. He just had to roll with it. “He’s not my type,” he informed, “But if I ever meet his girlfriend, I’ll be sure to get her opinion.”

“Damn,” Lou exclaimed with disappointment, “Could you imagine how convenient that would have been if he was gay and cute?”

Why had he thought calling Lou would make things easier? Ever since Will had told her he was gay over a year ago she had made it her personal mission in life to get Will a boyfriend. It wasn’t that Will didn’t want a boyfriend, he really did, but he wasn’t out at school or with his mom (or at least he hadn’t been) so he didn’t really think actually dating was an option. Will had just figured he would wait until college to have a love life, and he should have stuck with that.

“That’s really not high on my list of priorities right now,” Will stated seriously. He doubted that Lou Ellen would let the topic go, but he could hope.

“Will,” Lou replied with her best impression of a parent about to give some lecture about an important life lesson. “You’re a sixteen-year-old guy! I’m pretty sure that should be your only priority.”

She had a point there but he had no intention of telling Lou that, he would never hear the end of it. “What can I say, I’m not a stereotype,” he retorted flatly.

“Sure,” Lou hummed clearly unconvinced. Will didn’t try to convince her, there wasn’t a point. Lou let him have his denial and moved on, “So have you met anyone else cool? Not as cool as me obviously, and by the way, I will kick your ass if you replace me with new delinquent friends.”

“Lou,” Will laughed to spite his situation and his lingering melancholy, “I could never replace you. You’re one of a kind.”

“Damn straight!” Lou replied with clear pride. “So not to sound like your mom, but are you making friends?”

“Yeah, a few,” Will shrugged and looked around the call room absently. He didn’t know if he could actually count any of the people he had met at Olympus as friends yet, but there was the potential which was far more than Will had really expected. “I guess.”

“Talking to you is like pulling teeth, I swear to god!” Lou exclaimed with frustration, “Details, William!”

“Leo has introduced me to a few cool people,” He answered. He really should have known better than to try and give Lou anything less than the blow by blow of everything. “There’s Jason. He’s in for grand theft auto, which is actually a pretty funny story.” Jason totally had Will’s sympathy, but Leo was right, the story was hilarious.

There was a long stretch of uncharacteristic silence before Lou Ellen questioned with clear confusion. “He got sent to an at-risk youth home over a video game?”

“No Lou,” Will shook his head at the ridiculousness of Lou’s question before correcting. “He actually stole a car.”

“Oh,” Lou started sounding deflated, “I guess that makes more sense.”

“And there’s Percy,” Will continued. He couldn’t help but smile a little to himself because if there was anyone in Olympus that reminded Will of Lou Ellen it was Percy. In reality, they weren’t all that much alike, but they definitely shared a few key personality points. “I think you’d like him,” he explained, which was at least partially true. The way he figured it, Lou Ellen and Percy were just enough alike they would either love each other or they would completely hate each other. “He’s a pretty funny guy.”

Will waited for Lou to say something, hoping that she would move the conversation on to another topic, but she remained silent. The longer they went without either one of them talking the more awkward the silence became. Will began humming nervously as he drummed his fingers against the cheap wood table.

When Lou finally broke the silence, it was with a loud huff. “God Will, you are going to be the death of me.”

“What?” Will questioned defensively.

“Will,” Lou Ellen let out another huff on the other end of the call. Will wasn’t too worried about it. He had known Lou long enough to be able to tell the difference between Lou’s genuinely annoyed huffing and her overly dramatic huffing. “You’ve been there a week you’ve had to meet more than three people.”

“Oh um…..” Will hummed. He had technically met plenty of people, but only one person that really mattered, Nico. That had been the reason behind calling Lou Ellen in the first place, to talk about Nico. Will had tried not to like him, at least not in the romantic sense, he really had, but there was just something about Nico that Will felt undeniably attracted to. Lou Ellen had always been the person Will talked to about stuff like that, but now that he had her on the phone he wasn’t sure if he should. It was almost like there was some kind of magic around actually admitting his feelings out loud. Will wasn’t sure if it was good magic or bad, and he just didn’t know if he should risk it. Unfortunately, overly dramatic Lou was not likely to drop the topic. “There is also this one guy I met when I first got here,” Will offered up nervously after the silence had really become too much to bear. “Nico.”

“OH MY GOD!” Lou Ellen practically screamed on the other end of the call.

The reaction was so unexpected and so shocking that Will jumped and almost fell out of his chair. “What?” he questioned genuinely startled.

“You have a crush!” Lou exclaimed in an overdramatic way that Will probably should have seen coming because it was Lou and that was very her but was still surprised by.

“What?” Will questioned as he gave a nervous look around the still empty room. He was so lucky someone wasn’t there because there was no way that they wouldn’t have heard that. She was right, sort of, but that was the last thing he needed to get around Olympus. More importantly, Will didn’t know how Lou Ellen could know that. He had just said his name in a normal way. “No!” he denied quickly. He suddenly felt like telling Lou about Nico at all was a bad idea. It was Lou!

“William,” She huffed audibly on the other end of the call, “I can literally hear you swoon as you said his name.” She mumbled something that Will couldn’t quite make out, but he was sure it was something disapproving before explaining firmly, “I’m going to put aside my annoyance that you didn’t lead with this information so you can tell me EVERYTHING.”

He sighed heavily. Will knew he had no one to blame for this but himself. It was almost the exact same reaction she had had after the party. That wasn’t a great memory, and the simple thought of it had his stomach turning in knots. “Lou, there is nothing to tell.”

“Of course there is!” Lou stated insistently.

Why did he call Lou? Why hadn’t he called Cecil? They were good questions, and Will didn’t have a good answered to them. When everyone at school found out that Will was gay, Cecil had been pretty cool about it in his awkward Cecil way. He just straight up asked Will if the rumors were true, and when Will had told him they were he just shrugged and asked if Will still wanted to play video games with him and Lou after school. Most importantly, Cecil took zero interest in Will’s love life and definitely wouldn’t push for nonexistent details.

“There really isn’t,” he insisted with a heavy sigh.

“Is he straight?” Lou Ellen questioned. There was concern in her voice. It wasn’t obvious or over the top. If anything, Will could tell she was trying to hide it, but it was still there. Will didn’t blame her. After last time, how could he?

Will swallowed a laugh at the question. “No,” he answered easily.

“In the closet?” Lou asked.

There was no keeping down a laugh at that one. Nico was so far from being in the closet it was kind of unbelievable. Sometimes he was so honest about his sexuality, and his experience he made Will a little uncomfortable (and curious and maybe even a little turned on). Still, Will admired that about him. It was part of Nico’s appeal because he didn’t apologize for who he was. Will sort of wished he was like that. “Definitely not,” he dismissed.

“Well, that is an improvement,” Lou casually commented.

It wasn’t really her fault because she was technically right, but the comment and the casualness of it hurt more than a little. Improvement or no, Will was still in what Lou insisted on calling kiddy jail, his mom still looked at him differently now, and even when he left this place he still had two years of high school at a place where he had been very publicly outed with some fantastically horrible results and a vice principal that so casually told his mother she should find him “some help to deal with his inappropriate desires”. Improvement or no, his life was still a mess.

Unaware of the mini depression her comment had inspired, Lou Ellen squealed, “Oh my god, I’m so excited!” Will could easily imagine her doing that Lou thing where she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet as she spoke. “On a scale of one to ten, how cute is he?”

“Lou,” Will complained instead of answering. Thus far he had been at least trying not to think about how touchable Nico’s hair looked, or how his dark eyes reminded Will of the moonless night sky, or how his full lips always looked soft and so kissable. Trying to quantify the guy’s attractiveness felt like a dangerous first step down a slippery slope. It was already hard enough to not think about the guy.

“William!” Lou Ellen shouted on the other end of the line. Her tone was a patented mix of disapproving and lecturing. It was the same tone that always had Cecil saying she was either going to be a teacher or a nun (and Lou Ellen usually smacked him pretty hard for that one).

Will let out a long heavy sigh. He had known that Lou Ellen wasn’t the type to just let something like this go. She had absolutely lost her mind when Will had told her he had kissed a boy at a party. Still, he had sort of hoped this time would be an exception to her normal nature. He should have known better. After all, he had the worst of luck.

“Like a 15,” he admitted quietly and even as he said it, it felt like an underestimation.

“Holy fuck!” Lou Ellen gasped.

Will scrubbed at his face with his free hand as he admitted gravely, “I know.”

“What’s he like?” Lou questioned. She still sounded excited, but there was also a new undertone of seriousness that Will knew he was completely to blame for. Even after he had come out to Lou Ellen, he had never really talked about guys. No one else was out at school, and he wasn’t going to get all worked up over a straight guy. Even with celebrities, he wouldn’t say much beyond if he thought they were attractive or not. He had absolutely never even suggested that someone was so attractive they were actually off the charts.

Will didn’t even know how to describe Nico or his interactions with him. Nico was sarcastic and dark. He was really witty, and Will got the impression that the guy was always observing what was going on more than anyone gave him credit for.

Nico reminded him of a rose bush that had been outside his mother’s apartment before they moved to New York. It had been this big beautiful bush covered with deep red flowers that Will had always felt a compulsion to touch. His mother always caught him with his hand outstretched and would remind him that roses had thorns. Will had been young and didn’t really know what that met but understood that his mother was telling him not to do something so he would stop. A few months before they had moved, Will remembered he had been riding his bike, the tire popped, and he went flying into that bush. Tangled in the bush’s viny branches, Will learned what thrones were.

Will wasn’t going to tell Lou Ellen that. He’s like a rose bush, that sounded way too melodramatic and over the top, and he was talking to Lou Ellen. She would have called him out on something like that. He still knew he had to say something so after an uncomfortably long time he just nervously hummed, “Ummm.”

“Oh dear god, Will,” Lou Ellen exclaimed with disapproval, “Please tell me you’ve actually spoken to him.”

“Yeah,” Will assured awkwardly. He rubbed nervously at the back of his neck and was glad that Lou Ellen wasn’t there to see just how awkward he was being, “He’s just …… complicated.”

“Sweetie,” Lou Ellen replied. Her words practically dripped with condescension. “Calculus is complicated, boys are not,” she informed matter-of-factly.

“Hey!” Will exclaimed a little offended at Lou’s presumption. He honestly didn’t know what she was talking about. In Will’s experience, guys were pretty complicated, at least when it came to dating.

Lou Ellen made a dismissive clicking sound with her tongue before retorting, “Sorry but it’s the sad truth of your gender.”

“Alright,” Will stretched out the word. There was no point in fighting with Lou even if he thought she was wrong. Worse yet, there was still no getting out of this conversation and he still didn’t have any good answers for her. He huffed and corrected, “Then he’s just hard to read I guess.”

“The mysterious type?” Lou declared in one of those silly voices that really had no place outside the time around Halloween, “Owww.”

Will could just imagine the guy Lou Ellen was picturing: the kid that sat at the back of the class wearing dark clothes and didn’t talk much. Some of those things were accurate when it came to Nico, but he still very much wasn’t that guy. Nico was mysterious but with an edge that was hard to explain. “Kind of,” Will hummed nervously. The more he thought about how he could describe Nico, the more he realized there was no way he could explain Nico in an accurate way and have Lou Ellen approve. “Sometimes he can be sort of…..” Will realized there was no winning and hoped that if he just stopped talking the whole conversation would go away.

No such luck. After a bit of a pause, Lou Ellen questioned suspiciously, “Sort of what?”

Will sighed and could feel himself wincing in preparation of Lou Ellen’s reaction. “Sort of ass-hole-ish,” he supplied reluctantly.

“Oh William,” Lou Ellen declared sounding so disapproving it was almost painful.

“But it’s not all the time,” Will was quick to defend, “I really think it’s a defense mechanism because sometimes I just …. I don’t know, see between the cracks, I guess.” It was so hard to explain, but Will didn’t think Nico was as callous as he came across most of the time. There was something about him, in the moments when he didn’t think other people were paying attention, which was so deep and tragic. Will wanted to know him better, to understand the sadness that he seemed to carry.

Will heard Lou Ellen huff before retorting with what sounded like disinterest, “How poetic.”

Will slouched in his seat. Lou just wouldn’t get it, and he knew that going into the conversation. He should have just let it go there but something bothered him about the idea of Lou Ellen thinking poorly of Nico when she didn’t even know him. “He can be really witty,” Will offered. It felt like an understatement because Nico also seemed to have a sarcastic comeback in even the most stressful of situations. It was impressive.

“Okay,” Lou Ellen dragged out the word, and she didn’t sound all that impressed, “Is there anything else about him that I should know?”

“Well….” Will hated that Lou could ask, and he felt he had to tell her, but she was his best friend and part of him did want her advice. Maybe he even wanted her to tell him even liking Nico was a horrible idea so maybe he could stop. “He has a bit of…..well reputation isn’t exactly the right word.”

“I’m afraid to ask,” Lou Ellen commented flatly.

“Um well,” Will hummed, “It’s kind of a bit of a joke that he ….gets around more than his fair share.”

“Oh Will,” Lou exclaimed, and Will was absolutely sure that he could hear her shaking her head with disapproval.

“I know!” Will whined as he brought a hand up to scrub at his face.

Nico was a mystery. He could be crass and sarcastic to the point that it could be overwhelming, but that drew Will in. If there was anything that actually caused Will pause, it was Nico’s reputation. Will had never dated anyone before let alone had sex. He really had only kissed the one person, and that hadn’t ended well. Nico clearly had ….. experience and wasn’t ashamed of that. Will wasn’t even opposed to being with someone that did have experience. There was actually something sort of comforting about the idea of being with someone who knew what they were doing. The problem was how casually Nico seemed to take sex. If that worked for Nico that was good for him, but Will knew he couldn’t do that. Will knew that about himself without a doubt, but he still kind of liked to imagine how amazing it would be with Nico.

Will was so lost in his own thoughts (and he definitely wasn’t trying to imagine what sex with Nico would be like) that he almost missed Lou Ellen’s next question. “Why is he there?” It sounded like she had circled past disapproval and was back to being curious (if slightly worried).

“Assault with a deadly weapon,” Will admitted with a heavy sigh.

“So,” Lou started thoughtfully, “What you are telling me is he is a slut with a bad attitude and violent tendencies?”

Will winced and rubbed at his temple. “When you put it like that it sounds really bad,” he admitted. He had already been aware that Nico wasn’t exactly the type of guy you brought home to meet your parents but hearing Lou put it that way just took it to a whole new level.

“Will, I love you,” Lou declared in that way she usually did right before she said something kind of insulting. As if on cue she added, “But you have the worst taste in guys.”

“I’m starting to realize that,” Will admitted because there really didn’t seem a point in denying it.

He had never thought that would be a problem he would have, but that was mainly because he spent most of his time trying to not think about the fact that he was gay. High school was enough to deal with without being labeled as the gay kid, and that didn’t even take into account his mom.

He let out a long sigh because Lou Ellen was saying everything he had anticipated she would say, and he didn’t feel any different about things. “But I can’t help it. I just feel so drawn to him,” he admitted feeling a little pathetic for having said it out loud.

Lou was quiet for a long time, and as each second of silence past Will was more sure that when Lou Ellen did finally speak it was going to be to tell him he was a complete idiot. She wouldn’t have been wrong, and Will was pretty sure on some level that was why he was telling her all of this in the first place. The fact that it was Lou Ellen he was talking to, and she did tend to be a bit unpredictable should have prepared him for anything, but when she did speak, he was still surprised. “Well,” she declared thoughtfully. “Does he seem interested in you?”

“What?” Will questioned like he was confused even though he had heard her just fine. He knew what the words meant, but they were just so far from what he had expected that he couldn’t get them to make any sort of sense.

“Does he seem interested in you?” Lou Ellen reiterated with a little more force.

Will blinked for a minute and looked around the room even though he knew he was still alone in the little call room before he could even really process the question. Even when he understood it, he didn’t really know how to take it, let alone answer it. He had no idea what Nico thought of him. Their interactions were so confusing that way. “You’re not going to tell me how horrible of an idea this is?” he finally questioned, his voice maybe a half an octave too high.

“Oh I haven’t even met the guy, and I can already tell this is a catastrophically bad idea,” Lou Ellen answered seriously, “But if there is ever a time to get the urge to go for the bad boy out of your system, it’s while you’re stuck in kiddy jail isn’t it?”

Another unexpected statement, and a very Lou Ellen one. “I hadn’t really thought about it that way,” he admitted. He was still a little stunned that the conversation was going that way, but he was strangely relieved.

“So, does he seem into you?” Lou Ellen asked again. She still sounded serious, but there was something else in her voice that Will thought could have been curiosity.

“Honestly,” Will started. He settled back in the old and rather uncomfortable chair like the weight of the conversation was physically pushing him down in his seat. “I have no idea,” he admitted with resignation.

“Have you tried flirting with him?” She asked. The curiosity was gone as well, and now she just sounded exasperated, like Will was an especially stupid child.

“I….” Will started and he wanted to say yes. He always tried to be nice to Nico and he couldn’t stop looking at him, and there were these little moments that seemed to pass between them. Will didn’t know how to describe it, but it felt like a lot more than just being nice. Was that flirting? Will had absolutely no idea. “I don’t know.”

Lou huffed dramatically before replying with yet another question, “How do you not know if you flirted?”

“Lou, he is really hard to figure out,” Will exclaimed in an attempt to defend himself. “Sometimes he says things, or I catch him looking at me, and I think that he might actually like me and then other times…. I’m just not sure.” Even if Nico was more obvious one way or the other Will didn’t think he would be able to say. He just didn’t trust himself to really, truly be able to tell, not after what had happened the last time. He had been so sure, and things had gone so badly. Will couldn’t risk that again.

“So, he sends mixed signals too,” Lou commented offhandedly before adding with a level of sarcasm that was impressive for even the likes of Lou Ellen, “What a catch.”

“I’m not explaining him right,” Will retorted quickly and with more frustration than was probably valid considering he had only just met the guy, and he wasn’t even sure he could describe him as a friend. “He’s actually…..”

“Witty?” Lou interrupted in a slightly mocking tone.

“You’re my friend,” Will reminded sharply, “You’re supposed to help me.”

“Fine, since you’re simply dying for my advice,” Lou corrected even though the slightly mocking tone was still there just slightly less so, “I think you should just go for it.”

“Go for what?” Will questioned. He didn’t remember Lou being the cryptic type. Had that changed? Will hadn’t even been gone that long.

Lou made a derisive little noise before replying like it was already more than obvious, “Make the first move, dumbass.”

“And if he’s not interested, then what?” Will asked.

He could feel himself getting defensive again. No, not defensive. Defensive wasn’t the right word. The anger Will felt about everything that had happened was threatening to bubble to the surface despite his efforts to keep it down. It wasn’t Lou’s fault, and it had nothing to do with Nico, but this whole conversation was just getting too close.

“Sometimes I can’t even tell if he likes me as a person. What happens if I make the first move and he wants nothing to do with me?” he asked. The question came out sharp and more heated then Will had wanted but Lou talked like it was all easy and simple. It wasn’t, not by a long shot. “We are both stuck here and it’s not like we could avoid each other. This place isn’t that big.”

“Since when are you so negative?” Lou questioned with a nervous little laugh.

“Since _going for_ it didn’t work out so well for me last time,” Will retorted. There it was, he had said it. He felt the sting of bile at the back of his throat just from saying it out loud, but he had said it.

“Sweetie,” Lou Ellen spoke, and the sympathy in her voice was so much worse than the friendly mocking that had been there before. “That was a very different situation,” she assured in what had to be the most patronizing tone.

He knew Lou only meant the best, but she just didn’t get it. Why would she, it wasn’t her life? She had been there to support Will when everything had gone down, but she had been a bystander in all of it.

“Was it all that different?” he questioned. He got that it looked different on the surface, but when he looked past the details of it there were more similarities then Will would have liked. “Doesn’t even matter?” he asked even though to him the answer was already more than obvious, “It landed me in this place, that level of bad is enough to kill any desire I might have to go for it again in the future.”

“Will.”

All she had done was said his name, but Will could tell that she was going to try to reason with him. Tell him that he couldn’t do that to himself and that he needed to let it go. He didn’t want to hear any of it. “Let’s talk about something else Lou,” he ordered sharply.

He heard Lou let out a long sigh before asking, “Are you ever going to call your mom?”

If there was one thing that Will wanted to talk about even less, it was his mom. “Not that,” He replied flatly.

“I know she made some seriously craptastic decisions in this, but she was bullied, and we both know it,” Lou came back quickly.

Lou Ellen had always liked Will’s mom to a point that Will sometimes thought it was weird. Maybe it was because Lou Ellen’s mom traveled for work all the time, so she was rarely around, and Lou was looking for someone to fill that maternal role. Will had never given it much thought because it was just one of those weird Lou Ellen things, and it was harmless. Or least it had been, but when everything went down, and Will’s mom was listening to everyone except for Will, Lou was always defending her choices. Will still loved Lou and everything, but she had no fucking idea what she was talking about, and it pissed him off.

“She still loves you and is probably really worried,” Lou Ellen declared.

If she was trying to make him feel guilty, she failed. Not that Will didn’t feel guilty because he did about so much. He knew his mom loved him, and she was trying to do what was best, but she just had no fucking idea what that was. As guilty as Will felt about not talking to his mom, he knew he wasn’t ready to actually talk to her either.

“Thanks for that Lou,” Will dismissed flatly, “But you didn’t talk to your dad for two weeks when he took your cellphone, so I really don’t think you’re in the position to give me advice on my relationship with my mother.”

There was no way Lou Ellen didn’t have something to say about that, but Will didn’t get to hear it. Before she could say anything the door to the call room burst open and two burly looking guys entered. “Times up!” One of the guys declared harshly.

Will recognized both of the guys although he didn’t know either of their names. They definitely were a couple of roid-heads that usually hung out around Brice. Both looked like they could play in the NFL, they were so oversized and overly muscled. Will knew they could easily kill him if they wanted but he didn’t like to be pushed around by bullies. He had let that happen too much in his life already.

He didn’t move from where he sat, and he didn’t put down the phone. He just looked at the two guys and tried to play dumb as he asked, “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” the same one that had talked previously growled. It was clearly meant to be threatening, and it was successful. Will definitely felt threatened even though he tried not to let it show.

“Dude,” the other guy snickered, “Fucking with that one seems like a bad idea,” he told his buddy. Will didn’t miss how the guy took a minute to eye him and not in a sexual way. He was definitely sizing Will up, and if the expression that crossed his face was any indication, he wasn’t impressed with what he saw. “He hangs with the lifers and pissing off di Angelo hasn’t exactly worked out for you in the past.”

“Will,” Lou Ellen’s voice carried from the other end of the line sounding a little panicked, “What’s going on?”

“One sec,” he told her before looking up at the two guys. “Can I get back to my call?” he questioned. He was sort of terrified that one of the guys was going to punch him in the face, which he hid (he hoped) behind a tone of casual annoyance.

“Will!” Lou shouted disapprovingly, “Don’t get salty with someone who sounds that aggressive!”

The first guy took a large step forward so that he was looming over Will where he sat. “Get off the fucking phone,” he growled through clenched teeth.

“But I’m not done,” Will replied. As soon as he heard the words leave his mouth, he was sure he was going to die.

Will didn’t know how but the seemed to get bigger somehow. He jabbed a finger into Will’s chest with a painful amount of force as he growled, “Listen here you fucking-”

“Wow, language!” Someone declared from the hall and then half a second later Leo pushed past the second guy and into the room. “You kiss your _madre_ with that mouth?” He questioned as he looked at the first guy like he was genuinely impressed. Before the guy could say anything, Leo turned to where Will was still sitting. “Will, I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” he declared, “Get off the phone, there is fun to be had.”

It took Will a minute to catch up with what was happening and recognize that Leo had pretty much swept in like a knight in shining armor with an escape from his impending doom. “Lou, I’ve got to go,” he declared, “Talk to you soon.” He hung up the phone before Lou Ellen could argue and was on his feet.

Will was focused on his escape, but Leo didn’t seem to be in as much of a rush. He paused and patted the first guy on the chest and offered with cheer, “Enjoy your phone call.”

Leo subtly ushered Will out of the room before the meatheads could react and try to murder them. When they were in the hall, Will turned to his roommate and asked, “Where are we going?”

Leo grinned at him as they continued down the hall. “To have fun,” he answered.

“You’ve already said that,” Will pointed out a little nervously. He liked Leo and everything, and he had so far been a pretty nice reason, but he always seemed like he was up to something. He was in Olympus for a reason, so who knew what that something was. Will liked Leo, but he didn’t want to get dragged into any trouble.

“It’s still true,” Leo assured as he took a left at a hall Will didn’t recognize. That didn’t really mean anything because Will still found the place to be pretty confusing. Despite his apprehension, Will continued to walk with Leo who turned and smirked at him, “What are you worried about?”

His smirk definitely didn’t decrease Will’s apprehension any. “Getting in trouble,” Will admitted.

Leo’s smirk turned into a wide grin. “You’re already here,” he pointed out. He stopped in front of a door. It had an exit sign above it that was burnt out and a sign posted on the door that said Staff Only. “How much more trouble can you get in?” he asked with clear amusement. It was Leo, so Will was pretty sure the guy was joking. Most of what Leo said seemed to be at least partially a joke. Will couldn’t help but think that he actually had a pretty valid point.

Leo didn’t wait for Will to say anything before turning his attention to the door. He pulled something out of his pocket and slipped it between the door and the door jamb near the handle. He made a few slight adjustments before giving the door a bit of a nudge with his shoulder and twisting the knob. There was a pause where nothing happened then Will heard a metallic click sound and then the door swung open revealing a set of stairs leading up.

With a nod and a quick wave, Leo invited Will to follow before starting up the stairs. Will hesitated for an uncertain moment before starting after Leo, careful to shut the door behind him. He still didn’t know where they were going except up.

They were up one flight before Will let his nerves get the best of him. “Leo,” he whispered to the guy a few steps ahead of him. He was careful not to be any louder than necessary, so he couldn’t be overheard and caught. “I don’t think we are supposed to be up here,” he pointed out nervously.

“Of course not,” Leo agreed brightly. He clearly wasn’t worried about being caught if the volume with which he spoke was any indication. He didn’t stop in his ascent up the stairs, but he did glance back over his shoulder to grin wickedly at Will as he added, “That’s part of the fun.”

“I think we have a different definition of fun,” Will grumbled under his breath as he still continued to follow.

They went up four or five flights of stairs before they couldn’t go up any further, and they were just standing at a door. This time Leo didn’t do any fancy tricks to open the door, he just turned the knob and the door swung open. There was a moment when Will was practically blinded by the sunlight beaming in. His disorientation faded as his vision returned, and he followed Leo through the door.

Maybe it was the sunlight and the general surprise at being outside so unexpectedly, but it took him an embarrassingly long time to realize that Leo had brought him to the building’s roof. It was so painfully obvious that it was a roof too, with its dark tar surface, and the occasional ventilation pipe sticking out of the ground.

He followed Leo because he didn’t know what else to do, and Leo led him around the side of what looked like a rectangular shed to where Jason, Percy, and Nico were all sitting. Will didn’t know how long the three had been there, but they had seemed to have made themselves comfortable. Percy and Jason were seated with their backs against the little shed while Nico had his back against the short wall that lined the roof itself. There were bottles of liquor lying around too.

Percy and Jason looked like they were in the middle of some playfully heated argument which was pretty much the usual for them, Will was starting to realize. Nico looked slightly bored which added to his general mystique. There was also something about seeing him under the bright light of the sun. It was like a study in contrasts with his dark hair and black leather jacket standing as stark opposites to his pale skin. He looked so enticing that he even made the cigarette pressed between his lips look good.

If Nico was art, at that moment surrounded by booze and smoking a cigarette in his leather jacket the name of the painting would have been Bad Boy. Will could see that clear as day and it made him want Nico more.

Their arrival didn’t go unnoticed long. “Where have you been?” Percy questioned sounding truly outraged by their absence.

“This one was making a phone call,” Leo explained, jutting a thumb at Will as he moved to take a seat on the ground. The others looked toward where Will stood awkwardly. He had spent plenty of time with the group since he had arrived, but he still wasn’t sure how much he really belonged with them. He gave a weird little wave when Leo pointed at him. He noticed how Nico picked up the nearest bottle, remove the cap and take a long pull. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, and as Will watched all he could think was how much he envied that bottle.

“How’s your mom?” Jason asked.

The question was enough to snap Will out of his thoughts, but the meaning was still lost on him. Even when he figured it out, he didn’t understand. Why would Jason be asking about his mom? “What?”

“You can only call your parents the first month,” Percy explained as he settled back into Jason a little, “So if they have a mom to call that’s who everyone calls.”

“Oh,” Will guessed that made at least some sense. The situation must have just been different than most, and he should have been used to that by now but thinking about that just made him feel more out of place than he already did. “I didn’t call my mom,” He admitted and tried to ignore the curious looks that earned him. Nico had this way of just looking through Will’s very soul at times. It could make talking a real challenge. “I mean I have a mom I just …..” Will caught himself before he said more. These guys were cool, but they weren’t his friends. He didn’t, and shouldn’t, need to tell them the details of his life. “I just don’t really want to talk to her right now,” he explained, “I called my friend, Lou Ellen.”

“How’d you pull that off?” Percy questioned. He picked up a bottle, took a sip, and passed the bottle to Jason before adding, “They dial for you.”

Will bit at his bottom lip and rubbed at the back of his neck. “When I was filling out the paperwork the first day I put Lou’s number down in place of my mom’s,” he admitted. He wasn’t proud of it, but he just couldn’t imagine going a whole month without the ability to talk to at least one of his friends. “I guess no one noticed the error yet.”

Leo settled in on the ground next to Jason although he gave the guy a lot more in the way of personal space then Percy. He snatched a discarded bottle off the ground and tilted it toward Will in what was clearly meant as a show of approval. “Crafty,” he commented before taking a large swig of booze.

“Golden Boy you’re just full of surprises,” Nico exclaimed. He was looking up at Will with this twinkle in his eyes, and he had this teasing undertone to his normally smoky voice. It all had Will’s stomach doing summersaults. “I wouldn’t have figured you for the rule-breaking type,” he informed thoughtfully with the smallest of smirks playing on the corners of his lips. His pouty, full, utterly distracting lips.

Will did his best to hide the effect Nico had on him, and when his voice came out a little shaky and uncertain, he was sure his efforts had failed. “I’m here, aren’t I?” he questioned.

The little smirk Nico was wearing turned into a dark and wicked smile. Will was pretty sure that he could have died. His heart was pounding so loudly in his ears that he thought he might go deaf, and he couldn’t pry his eyes away from Nico’s lips. “Fair point,” he admitted and then tilted the bottle in his hands in Will’s direction.

“Um,” Will hummed nervously as he looked at the bottle.

Will had never been a big drinker. That just wasn’t the group he had hung out with back at his real school. He and his friends were more likely to pull an all-nighter marathoning superhero movies and eating junk food then they were to go out to a party or drink. His one real party experience had literally ruined his life, and after that, he had sworn to himself that he would never touch anything alcoholic ever again. But Nico had drunk from that bottle, his lips had touched it and everything. That made it really tempting. “Is that alcohol?”

“Well, it isn’t water,” Nico answered and held out the bottle a little further for Will to take.

Despite his oath, Will considered it for longer than he was proud of before he thought better of it. “I shouldn’t,” he admitted as he tucked his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. Why were his hands so sweaty all of a sudden?

“Damn,” Nico exclaimed returning the bottle to where it had been before, resting between his legs. “You could give a guy whiplash,” he shook his head and then apparently decided that just because Will wasn’t drinking didn’t mean he couldn’t. He brought the bottle to his lips and took a long sip, his eyes remained on Will the entire time.

Will let out a long sigh. He didn’t like to think he was suitable for peer pressure, but he wanted Nico to like him. He knew he probably shouldn’t, but he really did. “I swear I’m not completely boring,” he defended and hoped that he didn’t come across too desperate, “I’m just pretty sure getting caught drinking will kill my shot of getting out of here early.” It was a true enough statement and one of the first things Will really began to cling to after he and his mom met Mr. D. There was a chance he could leave early based on his behavior. Will wasn’t a trouble-maker. He could behave if it meant his freedom.

The four guys all exchanged a look for a half a second before breaking out into laughter. “Where did you get that idea?” Leo questioned as he whipped a tear away from his eyes.

Will was taken aback. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but it wasn’t for them to laugh. “Brunner said-,” he managed to stammer out, and all that seemed to do was increase the laughter. To Jason and Leo’s credit, they tried to hide it. Leo ducked his head and hid his snickering mouth behind his hand, while Jason turned and tried to muffle himself with Percy’s shoulder. Percy and Nico clearly didn’t care to hide it and didn’t pretend differently. Will stopped as it was clear that he was missing something. “What?”

It took a little time for the laughter to fade. There was another look around between the four. They didn’t say anything, but Will felt like they were silently agreeing on who was going to explain. Will figured the conversation was over when Nico picked up his bottle for another sip. Jason looked up at him with clear sympathy, “This place is for profit,” he explained, “No one gets out early.”

“But they are not above using the promise of early release as a carrot to keep people well-behaved,” Percy added. Will knew it wasn’t really directed at him or at his expense, but there was a gloating tone in Percy’s words that struck him hard.

Of course, it was all bullshit! Of course, there was no way that he could get out early and get back to his real life. It really was stupid of him to ever think that it was going to be any other way. That was Will’s luck.

Will was silent as he tried to process everything, and it must have been written all across his face. He wasn’t surprised that everyone could tell, but he was surprised by the person that moved to comfort him.

Nico sighed heavily and heaved himself up, snatching his bottle of liquor as he went. He walked up to Will and brought a hand to rest on Will’s shoulder. He leaned on him a little and there was something about Nico’s weight that was reassuring. “Still don’t want any?” he questioned as he held up the bottle once again.

Will looked at him for a moment and then the bottle in his hand. Will knew he shouldn’t, but yet another thing broke in him, and he didn’t care what he should and shouldn’t do at that point. He took the bottle from Nico’s hand, unscrewed the top, brought it to his lips, and gulped. He took a second and third gulp too, drinking even after the hard liquor burned his throat. When he pulled the bottle away, he felt a little like he was coming up for air and the booze was still burning its way down to his stomach.

Nico went from leaning on him to patting his shoulder. “We might actually make a proper delinquent out of you yet, Golden Boy,” he declared with clear approval and then he did the most amazing thing- the hand that had been patting Will’s shoulder dropped and then he was holding Will’s hand and pulling him toward where he had been sitting before.

He is holding my hand, Will thought before he was pretty sure his brain overheated. He actually looked down at their hands to make sure what he felt was real. It was, and Will wasn’t sure how to process that. He let Nico pull him along and tried not to think about how Nico had these long nimble feeling fingers.

Things sort of devolved from there, and Will wasn’t actually sure about a lot of it. He was sort of in a daze, not all of which was because of the alcohol. He sat next to Nico. As soon as he did Nico released his hand which was sad, but they still sat close to each other passing Nico’s bottle of what Will thought was vodka between the two of them. There was some talking back and forth amongst the five of them, but Jason and Percy quickly became distracted by each other and started kissing. Not long after Leo produced an impressive amount of wires and other bits from his pockets and became focused on his efforts to put them together to make something.

With the others otherwise occupied, it was really just him and Nico passing the bottle and talking here and there. Will was feeling increasingly warm and relaxed (and maybe a little sleepy) with each additional gulp of booze. Even as the alcohol-induced fog fell over him, Will noticed something that struck him as a little odd (or at least out of place).

Percy and Jason were sharing a bottle, but that wasn’t all that surprising since it was clear that they had no problem swopping spit. Leo seemed to have his own bottle that he sipped from occasionally. Nico was sharing with him which was pretty nice but didn’t completely seem in line with everything he had seen from the guy.

What did that mean, Will wondered. He found himself looking at Nico which wasn’t surprising because Nico was so easy to look at. It was kind of nice just to be for a little while.

“Why do you call me Golden Boy?” Will questioned because his drunk brain decided that completely random moment was the appropriate time to ask the question that had been rolling around in his head since the day he arrived at Olympus.

The bottle was halfway to Nico’s mouth, and he brought it back down suddenly while letting out a little laugh. It was this musical and sincere little thing that Will was pretty sure he could listen to for the rest of his life. Nico grinned at him before asking, “Seriously?”

Nico could have been making fun of him, Will realized in hindsight, but at the moment all he thought to do was nod sincerely and answer, “Yeah.”

Nico looked at him. No, it was more than a simple look. He took a second and inspected Will as he sat there. Will probably should have felt self-conscious and maybe if the booze wasn’t clogging his brain he would have. As it was, Will just felt weirdly flattered, and he was pretty sure his cheeks had grown suddenly warm even though he didn’t know why.

“Do you mean besides your golden blond hair and surfer tan?” Nico questioned facetiously with a sardonic cork of his eyebrow

“Never been surfing in my life,” Will replied immediately, only realizing how stupid it sounded as he heard the words out loud. The heat that seemed to be radiating through his cheeks seemed to increase, but Will surprisingly didn’t find it so difficult to ignore. Maybe drinking wasn’t as bad as he remembered. He corked his head to one side with interest and asked, “Is there more to it than that?”

Nico gave it a half a second’s thought and then shrugged. “You’ve got _that_ look,” he answered simply before bringing the bottle back to his lips and took an impressive gulp. 

Will blinked a few times and tried to figure out what exactly Nico was talking about. Will didn’t have any real look, he was just Will. He was pretty sure he looked like every Solace in existence, or at least the few he had met. He was blonde, tall, and freckled. Beyond that he was….nothing or at least nothing compared to Nico.

“What look?” he finally questioned when he realized he was never going to figure it out on his own.

Nico screwed the cap back onto the bottle and deposited it next to himself carelessly enough Will thought he could hear the remaining liquid slosh around. “Captain of the football team, Class president, Mr. All-American boy look,” Nico explained with a dismissive little swish of his hand.

Will laughed for just so many reasons. He had friends back at his real school but not many, and even before he had been outed, he had never really been popular. Oh, and the captain of the football team was the person that had outed him in the first place. “My only extracurricular was chorus,” he admitted as his own laughter died down enough to let him speak.

The most amazing thing happened. Nico laughed, and it wasn’t sarcastic or dismissive. It was a genuine laugh, and it had an almost musical quality to it. Will was absolutely positive that he could just listen to Nico laugh for the rest of his life and would have been completely content.

“Oh, you fucking nerd,” Nico accused in a good-natured way that made Will’s very cells tingle. Nico also leaned into Will bumping his shoulder against Will’s shoulder in a playful way. For some reason, Will thought Nico would feel cold. Maybe it was because Nico wore a leather coat a lot of the time, Will wasn’t completely sure. At that moment he was proven wrong because he could feel the heat coming off Nico as their shoulders brushed.

Will must have been more buzzed then he had realized because he bit his bottom lip and looked up to meet Nico’s gaze. He was wondering if Nico was always warm like that or if the booze had something to do with it. But Nico was looking at him too. Will could feel it as real as a touch, and when he dared to meet Nico’s gaze Will thought he could see something in Nico’s dark eyes, something hungry. At the moment, Will was sure that he would happily be devoured.

There was a loud pop somewhere nearby which drew Will’s attention back to reality followed by a succession of tinier pops. Nico’s head whipped in the direction of the sound as well. What he saw wasn’t all that encouraging. Leo was sitting in a crouched position over a piece of roofing that was suspiciously scorched looking with a guilty expression plastered across his face.

“Oops,” Leo exclaimed apologetically.

The moment between Will and Nico, if it had been a moment at all, was broken. Next to him, Will heard Nico let out a heavy sigh. “God damn it, Valdez,” Nico exclaimed frustratedly in that way Will was pretty sure only Nico could do.

Somewhere in the growing chaos Jason and Percy had apparently ended their increasingly intense make-out session which Will was almost surprised by. He really thought it would take more to separate the two. “Yell and mock later,” Will heard Jason order with clear disapproval, “Scatter now!”

That was enough to snap everyone out of whatever daze they had been in. Jason, Percy, and Leo all darted toward the door that led to the staircase Will and Leo had taken earlier. Will would have too. He even took a half a step in that direction but then a hand caught him around the wrist. When Will turned and looked behind him he found Nico staring back at him with a serious expression on his face. He tugged on Will’s wrist gently as he tilted his head in the opposite direction, and he offered in what was barely more than a whisper, “Come on, Golden Boy.”

Nico didn’t wait for Will to say anything before he turned and started in the other direction. Will wouldn’t have fought him even if he thought too, so he let himself be pulled along until Nico stopped at a ladder that seemed to lead down to a small landing one story down. Nico didn’t explain before throwing a leg over the side and working his way down the ladder.

Will followed because he really didn’t know what else to do. Nico had waited for him on the landing which Will appreciated even if he didn’t know what to make of the smirk he was wearing. When he gave the smallest gesture, and it Will took an embarrassingly long time to realize was an invitation to climb through the open window first.

Considering that Will didn’t actually play any sports he was normal pretty athletic, or he at least had decent balance but at that moment he was a little buzzed so the action of climbing through a smallish window was a bit precocious. He managed it, but he had no illusions about how ridiculous he probably looked.

Inside, he found himself standing in what looked like a long-forgotten storage room. There were some boxes here and there, all of which looked empty and faded. There was furniture scattered around too, most of which looked broken in one way or another. Will thought he saw a few signs that residences had used the room for activities the staff wouldn’t approve of, but even those things seemed to be long forgotten.

Will was still righting himself and trying to gain a bit of control over his own balance when Nico slid in the window behind him. He put Will to absolute shame when he did so too. Will found himself staring as Nico moved almost as fluidly as water to join him in the room of long-forgotten things. It was probably the alcohol sloshing around in his brain, but watching Nico reminded Will of some amateur ballet performance he had seen on a school field trip when he was younger. At the time Will had been completely captivated by the idea that anyone could move like that, and he found himself feeling that way again.

That was a fine thought if Will could keep it to himself, but his stupid pickled brain decided to pretty much share it with the world. “You’re graceful,” he declared dumbly.

Nico took a second to dust himself even though he looked perfect. When he looked up, he had a smile on his face which actually made him look more perfect. “You know I’ve been called a lot of things over the years, but that’s a first,” he admitted with what sounded like amusement.

There was something about the way Nico looked at him, it had Will’s stomach doing flips and his cheeks growing warm. He found himself at a lost for words for a moment as he watched Nico pull the window closed so it was almost like they hadn’t snuck in at all. He half expected Nico to just walk past him and leave when he was done, but he didn’t. Instead, they were left staring at each other as the silence became progressively more awkward.

Will had never been great with awkward silence, and the alcohol that was still coursing through his veins didn’t help with that. “Thanks for…-” he offered with a weak gesture toward the window. He guessed he was thanking him for the escape route, but he wasn’t even completely sure. The little reprieve on the roof might have been one of the best things that had happened since he had arrived on Olympus.

Nico smirked and a wicked glint made his dark eyes practically glisten as he questioned, “We don’t want to tarnish your relatively pristine record, now do we?” He shrugged before reaching out and patting Will’s chest. It was a friendly gesture even if his hand seemed to linger just a little too long. “Besides, your first strike should be for something a bit more impressive than drinking on the roof.”

Will’s skin tingled from where Nico had touched him, and he licked his lips absently. He had a feeling Nico had something better in mind for his first strike. Even if he didn’t know what it was he was okay with it, or at least that was what his booze and hormone soaked brain told him. Without thinking, Will took a half a step toward Nico so they were standing just a little too close, and he had to tilt his head downward to look at the smaller boy. “Like what?” he questioned. His voice came out more husky then he intended to the point that he knew he would be embarrassed to think of it later when he was more clear-headed.

Nico didn’t seem deterred. Will watched his impossibly dark eyes flick downward as if to look at Will’s lips as he licked his own. It was stupid but Will thought for the briefest of moments that Nico had started to lean in closer to him. It wasn’t until Nico took a large step back from him and looked away from that Will realized he had been holding his breath.

“Damn, you’re cute drunk,” Nico declared as he pushed his long fingers through his silky looking black hair. “Cute and very obviously drunk,” Nico reiterated with a little shake of his head. Just like that, he started for the door, stopping halfway to look back at Will and comment, “The best way to avoid staff is to go back to your room and take a nice long nap.” He was at the door before he stopped again. This time giving Will directions to his room because apparently, he was aware of just how easily Will still got lost in Olympus. After that he left without even a goodbye, leaving Will desperate to figure out exactly what had just happened, and what it had all meant.


	6. Chapter 6

Nico had always had mixed feelings about individual counseling sessions. Unlike the group sessions, which most of the time turned into Brunner lecturing the group of them about something or another and were generally a waste of time, he could see the value of individual counseling… at least in theory. Growing up the way he did, Nico was private and preferred to keep his baggage and psychological trauma to himself, but if he did want to talk about that shit, he would have never of done it in group, but maybe individual.

But Nico wasn’t going to do that, so the fact that he still had to go weekly was inherently a huge fucking waste of time. Brunner was actually cool enough for the most part, but he laid the counseling thing on extra thick. You would think that after three years and who-the-fuck knows how many counseling sessions the guy would realize Nico wasn’t going to magically open up, but boy did he fucking try. It made the whole thing really fucking exhausting. Sometimes Nico tried to humor him because Brunner wasn’t actually that bad, and he was just trying to do his job. Nico could appreciate that even if he didn’t want to play along.

Unfortunately for Brunner, Nico wasn’t in the fucking mood to play along even a little. Some of the more obnoxious roid- heads had been extra fucking annoying that morning in group. There were definitely a few homophobic slurs thrown around. That wasn’t the biggest deal in Nico’s opinion because slurs for just about everyone were tossed out there, so it wasn’t like the gays were getting singled out, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t heard it before. The real problem was it got Will all sorts of worked up, which was somehow both cute as hell and hot as fuck.

Considering Nico was really trying to not want to fuck that guy that was a real fucking problem. At breakfast, Nico had tried to divert the conversation, but somehow it ended up on sex stuff (he blamed Percy for that), and Will blushed like crazy (which brought out his cute as fuck freckles) and sputtered (which was literally the most unattractive thing ever but Will somehow made it look appealing).

By the time Nico dropped into one of the chairs in Brunner’s office he was exhausted and more than a little sexually frustrated. He was kind of hoping he could get out of individual early so he could have enough time to rub one out before he had to be in morning class. He wasn’t in the mood to play like therapy was ever going to work for him.

“Hello Nico,” Brunner greeted with what Nico classified as a professional level of cheerfulness. Nico knew he was trying to set a friendly and inviting dynamic, but it was really too fucking early that morning for that fucking shit. “How are you today?” he questioned.

Nico did his best not to sigh. Even if Brunner was cool it was an extremely stupid question. He didn’t fucking care, and even if he did, he had literally been there for a good chunk of Nico’s fucking morning so he already knew the fucking answer.

“Fine,” Nico answered flatly.

“Is there anything you would like to talk about during our session today?” he asked seemingly sincerely.

Nico snorted dismissively at the mere thought before answering, “No.”

“That’s fine,” Brunner stated. He looked down at an open folder on his desk briefly before looking up with a more serious expression then Nico would have liked, “I actually had a few things that I thought would be worth discussing.”

“Awesome,” Nico declared without enthusiasm and a heavy eye roll. Nothing good ever came from statements like that coming from Brunner, especially after he made a show of looking at Nico’s file. Nico was sure he was in for some sort of lecture although he was a bit surprised because he normally knew what Brunner was going to lecture him about. He genuinely hadn’t the foggiest of clues.

“I’ve noticed you’ve made a new friend,” Brunner commented.

Nico blinked for a second. That was nowhere near what he had been expecting to hear. Normally Brunner’s lectures consisted of telling Nico to show more respect for the group therapy process or to stop pissing off the nurse at the medical dispensary. He had no fucking idea what or who the fuck the old man was talking about for a minute. When it finally clicked Nico was sure he would have preferred a lecture.

He slouched a little more in his seat and pulled his arms over his chest before questioning, “Who?” Nico was pretty practiced at hiding his feelings from mental health professionals. He was surprised that his voice came out sounding defensive. That was probably why Brunner didn’t look remotely convinced.

_Fuck_

“What?” Nico questioned in the most dismissive way he could manage, “Will?”

“Yes, Mr. Solace,” Brunner confirmed with a satisfied nod, “Our new addition.” He leaned back a little in his chair in a way that weirdly reminded Nico of his father. Hades would do something very similar when he thought he had won. It was a reminder that he was the one that was truly in control, and any of Nico’s acts of rebellion only occurred because he allowed them to. Brunner, in reality, was about as different from Nico’s father as he could be but the gesture, however unintentional, didn’t exactly put Nico in the mood to talk with the man.

“I wouldn’t say we’re friends,” Nico corrected flatly. They weren’t friends because Nico didn’t do “friends” but there was no point in saying that to Brunner because he would argue the point and bring up Percy and Jason. As much as Nico hated it, he didn’t have a good comeback to that argument either. “We just sort of hang around the same people,” he offered which was true enough. How Nico actually felt about that was the more complicated part.

Nico really didn’t know if he was frustrated or happy about the whole situation. If Golden Boy hadn’t been roomed with Leo, the chances that Jason would have adopted him like some wayward puppy were slim. Having Sunshine boy around was like an exercise in torture because everything about the guy was tempting, but he was also kind of funny and smart and…. Well, Nico didn’t mind having him around as much as he probably should, especially if he was going to keep his promise to Hazel.

“Whatever you want to call it,” Brunner dismissed. There was something about his expression, and his tone that made it seem like he knew something. There was nothing to know but Nico still didn’t like it. “I must say, I have been happily surprised,” he said. He even smiled a little which was pretty rare from Brunner. Nico didn’t blame the guy for being serious most of the time. If Nico worked at a hellhole like Olympus, he would probably be in a mood most of the time too. But that fact did make his smile, however small, more unnerving. “You have seemed more welcoming toward him then you have in the past.”

“I wouldn’t say I’ve been welcoming,” he retorted quickly. Yeah, he hadn’t been telling Golden Boy to fuck off, but it wasn’t like he had been warm and fuzzy with him either. He might have helped keep him out of trouble the other day when they had all been drinking on the roof but that didn’t mean anything, not really. It was kind of like the flirting that Nico would sort of slip into around him sometimes.

Brunner seemed to watch him for a few seconds in a critical way. Nico didn’t get why therapists did shit like that because all it did was make Nico want to tell them to fuck off and mind their own business. He didn’t do that with Brunner because that felt like too much of an asshole move but he had with counselors at school, and it had never gone over well.

“Nico,” Brunner started. He might have been trying to sound reassuring, Nico really didn’t know. “It isn’t an insult,” he promised.

Nico rolled his eyes and pulled his arms tighter over his chest. He wasn’t going to argue about it but it sure as fuck sounded like a fucking insult.

“Actually, I might even say it’s a good thing,” Brunner continued brightly despite Nico’s generally pouty attitude. “Will seems to be adjusting well,” Brunner explained although why that mattered to Nico he didn’t understand. Since it was Nico’s individual session shouldn’t they have been talking about shit going on with Nico? Nico didn’t actually want to do that either, but it still seemed like a valid question. “Considering that he isn’t a traditional resident here, I was worried about that,” Brunner admitted.

Nontraditional didn’t seem quite accurate, at least not to Nico. Will had done something bad, gotten in trouble for it, and got sent to Olympus. That, in essence, was how everyone had ended up in Olympus. So in that way, Will was like everyone else there, but he still didn’t belong there. He was too nice, and smart, and kind to be in a place like Olympus.

Nico wasn’t going to say any of that shit out loud. It would just get taken the wrong way and then he would get accused of being something even worse than nice. So he faked like he didn’t have an opinion on the matter and asked, “What does that have to do with me?”

“Well,” Brunner made a show of re-opening the file in front of him, and Nico wanted to groan. Since when did Brunner become such a fucking drama queen? Nico didn’t fucking know and he didn’t fucking approve of it either. Brunner took a second to look at the information in front of him before looking back up at Nico. “Looking at your records since you’ve arrived you have been relatively well behaved,” he explained, “You’ve gotten a few strikes but all for relatively mild things.” Nico rolled his eyes at that. He wanted to call bullshit because he had gotten up to plenty, and it wasn’t his fault that the staff at Olympus were fucking incompetent, but he wasn’t going to rat on himself. “If you keep this up, you’ll actually be able to have visitors,” Brunner declared sounding genuinely surprised by that fact. “That would certainly make Hazel happy,” Brunner added.

 _Oh fuck him_ , Nico thought defiantly. It was one thing suggesting Nico had been nice and well behaved because of a guy but it was another entirely to bring Hazel into it. It was a low blow, and Nico was surprised Brunner would do that. “What’s your point?” Nico questioned through gritted teeth.

“It’s a good thing, Nico,” Brunner assured. “You two appear to have a positive influence on each other,” Brunner continued, and it took Nico a second to realize he was talking about Will again. Nico didn’t even know what to say to that. He wouldn’t even agree to the fact that they were friends, so Nico didn’t know what the fuck Brunner was thinking that Will had any influence on Nico’s behavior. It was fucking ridiculous, and Brunner wasn’t done. “He would be the first real friend you had made that wasn’t somehow connected to Bianca, wouldn’t he?” he questioned with a pointed look.

“I’m not talking about Bianca,” Nico stated firmly.

“I wish you would,” Brunner stated. They had had this conversation before, and Nico’s tune hadn’t changed. Bianca was an off-limits topic, and that was just the facts. He would have thought that Brunner would have given up by now, but he hadn’t. “With the anniversary of her death approaching, I am worried-”

 _Wow_ , Nico thought, Brunner was really going for it that day. He would have thought he knew that shit didn’t work with Nico. Nico would have been impressed with his determination if he wasn’t extremely fucking annoyed. He pulled his arms more tightly over his chest in a show of defiance and stated sharply, “I’m not talking about that either.”

Brunner let out a long sigh and slumped in his seat. Nico would have sworn he could see the man age before his eyes but that was hardly his problem. Maybe the old man should consider retiring because Nico wasn’t being nearly as difficult as he could have been.

“I know I have said this before but talking is a part of the grieving process,” Brunner stated, and he was right, he had said it before, and Nico hadn’t responded to the statement particularly well on any of the previous occasions, “It might help-“

“It’s been 5 years,” Nico interrupted with a growl, “I’ve grieved.”

People always did that. They always tried to bring up Bianca and tell Nico how he should act or feel about her death. It was fucking bullshit. Brunner didn’t even know Bianca and very few people knew the full details of her death, so how could he or anyone tell Nico how he was supposed to deal with her passing. She was his sister, and in some ways, she was his only real family, and she was gone. That wasn’t something Nico could just get over, and he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to lose her again. He didn’t want to talk about her either, not with people that didn’t know her.

_Fuck Brunner for bringing up Bianca._

Brunner just stared at him for a long moment before asking critically, “Have you?”

By the time Nico stepped out of Brunner’s office he was exhausted. The rest of the session had pretty much been a repeat of conversations Nico had had dozens of times before with dozens of well-meaning but clueless mental health professionals.

No, he wasn’t going to talk about his older sister or how she died in a tragic home invasion. No, he wasn’t going to talk about his mother, who had died of rare cancer only a year before Bianca. No, he wasn’t going to talk about being ripped away from his childhood home in Venice and moved to the states so his mother could receive medical treatment which was ultimately a futile effort that caused her more pain. No, he wasn’t going to talk about what it was like to suddenly have to live with his father, a man he barely knew, and his wife who would always view Nico and his sister as the product of her husband’s repeated infidelity. And no, he wasn’t going to talk about the shock of discovering he had a half-sister only months after Bianca’s death. He wasn’t going to weep about the tragedy of his life, and he wasn’t going to scream about the unfairness of all of it. If Brunner wanted some movie-esque inspirational moment or some shit, he needed to look elsewhere because Nico wasn’t on board.

He was ready to go back to his room and sleep until dinner but no such luck. He made it no more than three feet from the door to Brunner’s office when Percy appeared at his side seemingly out of nowhere. He clamped a hand down onto Nico’s shoulder completely uninvited. “Dude, what did you do to piss off Brunner,” he questioned with an impressed little whistling sound that sort of made Nico want to smack him. If it was anyone else he probably would have given into the urge but it was Percy so he let it go. “He kept you the whole half hour.”

Brunner was usually pretty cool about individual sessions. As long as you were generally cooperative and didn’t lie, he would usually let you out at least ten minutes early. Nico hadn’t lied during his session, but he couldn’t have been described as being particularly cooperative. Percy might have been the closest thing Nico had to an actual friend but he wasn’t going to get into it with him either. Percy had known Bianca, and he knew well enough to not bring her up unprompted, but he would jump at the smallest opportunity to talk about her. Nico wasn’t in the mood for that.

Nico said nothing, instead choosing to respond with a noncommittal shrug. Percy leaned into Nico a little more as he declared dramatically, “I seriously almost died of boredom waiting for you, and that’s all I get?” He gave Nico’s shoulder a nudge, “How rude?”

“I didn’t ask you to wait,” Nico pointed out sharply with a pointed look in Percy’s direction. “Why are you even here?” he asked.

Percy was unaffected by Nico’s attitude which was nothing new. That was the great thing about Percy, everything rolled off him like it was nothing. He shrugged unapologetically and answered, “Leo found something amazing.”

“Nothing new then,” Nico stated dismissively. Leo was always finding things, that was what Leo did. That wasn’t a bad thing. Actually, a lot of the time Leo finding things led to some pretty fun times. Maybe Nico just wasn’t in the mood or maybe he needed more convincing. Only time would tell.

“Wow, you are in a mood,” Percy declared. It would have been annoying all on its own but Percy sounded so amused about it. Percy patted his shoulder completely unaware of how much Nico really wanted to smack him. Percy turned on his heels so he was in front of Nico and was walking backward. “Come on,” he gestured for Nico to follow, “We held off the Stoll brothers so we could find you and Jason.”

“That’s all?” Nico questioned. The words escaped him before he even thought about it, and he would have done anything to suck them back in. It was Brunner’s fault that the thought even crossed his mind but when Percy listed who was there, Nico wondered why Will wasn’t on the list.

Percy didn’t miss the fact that the question was out of place if the confused look that crossed his face was any indication. “What?”

“That’s all the people that are coming?” Nico questioned. He really tried to make it sound like he didn’t care. He didn’t after all, not really. It wasn’t even that weird that he had wondered about Will now that he thought about it. He was Leo’s roommate, and Jason had practically adopted the guy like he was some puppy he found sitting out in the rain. At this point, Nico was just surprised when the guy wasn’t around. Percy had that stupid bet with Leo because he was an asshole, so he would make a whole fucking thing out of it if Nico actually asked about Will. Nico already had to deal with Brunner’s assumptions he wasn’t in the mood for Percy’s stupid teasing. He shrugged like it all was nothing as he replied, “You, me, Jason, Leo, and the Stolls, is that it?”

“I think so,” Percy answered although he didn’t sound all that certain, “Besides, I think we are going to want even numbers.”

“Alright,” Nico nodded. So the Stolls were involved, and they needed an even number of people. All of that was interesting but told him nothing about what Leo found. Or maybe he was just too distracted by other things to really figure it out.

Nico stopped dead in his tracks before realizing he had stopped right next to the stairs. He looked at the stairs and then at Percy who had stopped as well and was looking at him with confusion. “I need to run back to my room,” he stated even though that wasn’t the case. Nico honestly didn’t know what he was doing at this point, but he wasn’t questioning it.

Percy let out an overly dramatic sigh before throwing up his hands and exclaiming in protest, “Dude!”

“Calm down, I’ll be quick,” Nico brushed him off. It wasn’t like he was blowing him off to study or something stupid. Nico didn’t actually have to go to his room but the moment Percy decided to be a drama queen about it was the moment Nico was determined to do it just to annoy him. He took a step toward the stairs before turning back to look at Percy as he asked, “Where can I meet you guys?”

“Third floor,” Percy answered. Apparently, he was over his drama queen moment and was back to being normal (slightly annoying) Percy, “You know that big storage room in the North wing?”

“Yeah,” Nico answered. He didn’t point out that he was the one that had discovered the long-forgotten storage room during his first stay and had shown Percy them in the first place.

“I’ll be there in ten,” he offered before starting up the stairs.

“Hurry or you’ll miss all the fun,” Percy called after him. It almost sounded like a taunt, but that would have involved Nico caring which they both new Nico didn’t.

Nico’s room was on the top floor with all the other single occupant rooms. The rumors around Olympus were that Nico was given a single room due to his tendencies toward violence like it would be unsafe for Nico to be roomed with someone. Nico wouldn’t argue that he could probably be a horrible roommate, but no one ever really got a chance to find out. He had been dormed with one of the Stoll brothers for the first few days of his first stay in Olympus and had always been solo after that.

Most of the offenses that brought Nico to Olympus had been at least somewhat violent, but Nico didn’t think that had anything to do with why he was put in the single-occupant room. He suspected that his father had arranged it somehow. It was no doubt his attempt to make sure Nico was comfortable. Nico didn’t know if he was necessarily comfortable, but he did enjoy the privacy that came without having a roommate.

Nico was so distracted by his own thoughts and lost track of how many flights of stairs he had climbed. Assuming he had to be at his floor he stepped out of the staircase, and instantly realized he had been wrong. Instead of the fourth floor, he found himself on the second. Nico could have turned around to leave but didn’t. He had absolutely no need to be there since the only person he hung out with that had a room on that floor was Leo, so no one was going to be there. Well, unless Will was in his room.

He started down the hall, not because he cared if Will hung out with them or not. Besides it wasn’t Golden Boy’s fault the others didn’t think to find him. Percy had been annoying enough that Nico liked the idea of messing up their even numbers. It was nothing more than that, and it definitely wasn’t whatever Brunner was trying to suggest.

He was a few rooms away when he first started to hear the music. It was something melodic and enticing that reminded Nico of his childhood in Venice. It would have been in place at one of those little bakeries near the canal his mother had always liked taking them to on the weekends after church.

At first, he figured it was just the radio. There were rules at Olympus about what residents could have, and since anything that played music was inherently fun, they were banned. Such things were probably the most smuggled-in items in all of Olympus.

As he got closer, Nico realized there was just no way that it could be the radio or someone’s iPod. The sound was too crisp, and Nico could practically feel each note in his bones. The residents of Olympus had a lot of talents, like stealing or setting up a small drug dealing network in their high school, but Nico couldn’t think of a single musical prodigy amongst them.

Even more surprising, as he approached the closed door of Leo and Will’s room Nico realized that was where the music was coming from. He was honestly so surprised he just stood in front of the door for a minute listening before he finally knocked.

He waited but there was no response from inside, and the music didn’t stop. Nico could have knocked again. He should have knocked again. There was no greater crime amongst residents of Olympus then entering each other’s space uninvited.

Nico turning the handle and pushed the door open enough to slip into the room. What he found was probably exactly what he should have expected but he was still unprepared for it. Will was sitting on the edge of his bunk with a guitar in his lap as he plucked at the strings masterfully.

 _Well, fuck_ , Nico thought, _that wasn’t fucking fair_.

Everyone knew that there was something extremely sexy about musicians. It was pretty much a law of the universe, like gravity or the speed of light. Nico was immune to a great many things other people found enticing but not even he could resist the magnetic pull of a good musician.

The way Will’s fingers practically glided across the strings it was obvious that he had years of experience playing. He really did have large hands and yet his fingers moved with so much agility. Nico bet that Will could be good with those fingers in lots of ways.

 _God, I need a cold fucking shower_ , Nico chastised himself. He knocked lightly on the door before his mind could truly run away with itself.

Will stopped at the smallest sound which was a real fucking shame. The music was so beautiful Nico genuinely regretted knocking, or at least he did until Will looked up at him and smiled. Golden Boy really did have the best fucking smile. He could seriously light a room with that thing. Even though he was clearly surprised to see Nico standing there, his smile was still so damned inviting.

“Hey,” he greeted.

The appropriate response to that was some sort of return greeting. Nico knew that because he wasn’t raised by wolves. Actually, his mother had always instilled the importance of manners and kindness. Of course, his mother had been gone for a long time, and she probably wouldn’t have approved of some of the thoughts running through Nico’s mind at the moment so maybe thinking about her at that moment wasn’t the best.

“You play the guitar?” he questioned and then immediately wanted to slap himself in the face. That had to be the stupidest question Nico had ever heard asked, and he was friends with Percy. He hadn’t had trouble talking to guys since he was thirteen and really starting to realize he was gay (like seriously, so very fucking gay).

“Yeah,” Will agreed, blushing as he did. The red that colored his cheeks brought out his freckles. Freckles, unlike musicians, were not supposed to be hot, but Golden Boy really made them work. He looked down and seemed to realize he was still holding the guitar and became more embarrassed by that fact. He shifted and set it next to him on the bed before turning back. “Just when I need a study break,” he offered like he needed an excuse for being hot. Nico had nothing to say to that, so they just fell into a weird sort of silence. It was awkward as fuck, and Nico normally bailed when shit like that happened, but he didn’t. “Um,” Will hummed and rubbed at the back of his neck, “What’s up?”

Nico shrugged and leaned against the door jam just to show how casual and unaffected he was by Golden Boy’s awkward brand of hotness. It wasn’t like Nico had been thinking about him, or thinking about the other day after they had been drinking on the roof. The way Will had looked at him. It was just the booze Nico was sure, but there had been something there. It didn’t matter though hence Nico wasn’t thinking about it. “Not sure but from what Percy says Leo found something interesting,” He informed. His eyes may have wondered momentarily to Will’s hands resting in his lap. He really did have big hands and Nico wondered if he had those callouses on his fingers that guitar players sometimes had. At least he snapped himself out of it quickly. “It sounds like fun could be had if you want to check it out.”

“Yeah, sure,” Will replied brightly and practically popped up off his bunk. He was kind of like an excited golden retriever. It was cute, and Nico wished he would stop. “Um, lead the way.”

They made small talk, or Will tried as they walked. Nico did try to play along but he didn’t have a whole lot of practice with that sort of thing. At school, like the one Nico had attended before coming back to Olympus, people usually avoided him, which was how Nico preferred it. Home wasn’t much different. Persephone was always talking but never really to Nico. Hazel said it was just in Nico’s mind, but he was pretty sure that she still resented him for being a sign of his father’s affair with Maria. His father, when around, spent most of his time in his study conducting business. There was Hazel, but as she had gotten older, she was around less too.

Things got awkward at times, most of which was Nico’s fault, but Will was always nice about it. It was kind of nice, just to chitchat with someone. He kind of regretted that they made it to the storage space so quickly.

Whoever was the last person through the door had been sloppy because the door was half-open. Nico just rolled his eyes at the incompetence and waved for Will to follow. Inside, Nico wasn’t really surprised by what he found.

Standing at one end of the room was Percy, Jason, Leo, and the Stoll brothers with two wheeled desk chairs, and what looked like several large boxes full of red solo cups. Jason and one of the Stolls were busy laying cups out on the floor, Leo had one of the chairs tipped over and was fixing one of its wheels, and Percy and the other Stoll were just fucking off.

Since he was pretty much doing nothing Percy noticed their arrival first. Nico wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not because there was something about the way he grinned that Nico didn’t like.

“Look who finally decided to show up, and you brought a friend,” Percy declared with a knowing glance in Will’s direction. Jackson really needed to stop doing that shit because Golden Boy was going to fucking notice and think it meant something. It did mean something, Percy Jackson was an annoying asshole. Percy had got it in his head that he had seen something between Nico and Golden Boy the other day on the roof and would not shut the fuck up about it.

Everyone looked toward them. “Will, man glad to see ya,” Leo greeted. Apparently, Nico was chopped liver with Golden Boy around, but that was neither surprising or offensive. Golden Boy was obviously the better choice, and it wasn’t like Nico and Leo were really friends. Leo was more Jason’s friend that Nico hung around with because Jason liked to keep his “people” together. Jason was fucking weird like that.

Leo paused and looked around, and Nico was pretty sure he could see the wheels in his mind starting to turn. “But now we don’t have even numbers,” he declared sounding seriously concerned.

One look around the room, and Nico had a pretty good idea what was going on or at least what the plan was. He had to admit he was impressed. The others’ ideas of fun weren’t always Nico’s taste but this he was all for.

Golden Boy must not have seen the vision because he sounded seriously confused as he asked, “And that matters why?”

“Oh newbie,” Connor Stoll declared as he pulled an unopened package of cups out of a box and held it up to display it proudly, “We are about to have so much fun.”

Will didn’t look particularly impressed by the display as he noted, “They’re cups.”

“Oh Golden Boy,” Nico declared as he felt a grin spread across his own face. This would have been fun on a normal day, but Nico was starting to suspect it would be far more interesting with Golden Boy around. He turned to look at him and did his best to ignore his cute freckles or just how blue his eyes were as he extended his hand to poke the guy’s nose with one finger gently. Nico almost had to push up on his toes to do it too because the guy was just so fucking tall. That was annoying and not hot at all. “Have a little imagination,” he suggested teasingly before walking up to a box and pulling out a package of cups. There was no point in just standing around and waiting.

After a minute of confusion, Golden boy walked over, grabbed a package of cups and started helping with the setup. Nico’s mother had always said many hands make light work, and as it turned out, she was right, especially when one of those sets of hands belonged to some well-mannered southern boy. They ended up with three towers of red cups at one end of the room in an impressively short time.

They wheeled the chairs to the other end of the room and looked back to admire their handy work. Golden Boy ended up next to him which seemed to happen a lot. Nico wouldn’t complain because he happened to smell really good, but it was curious.

“Are we really doing this?” He questioned in a whisper, and if a small chill ran down Nico’s spine it was because the storage space was seriously fucking cold and had nothing to do with the feel of his hot breath on Nico’s skin. “It seems sort of-”

“Fun,” Percy interrupted to supply because apparently, he was eavesdropping. Nico was really starting to wonder why the fuck he hung around Percy. He knew the answer, of course, Bianca, but still he was really more trouble than he was worth. “Yeah, it does,” Percy added with excitement.

Golden boy gave Percy this uncertain expression as he hummed nervously. It was pretty cute if Nico was being honest, and Nico wanted none of that. He had a promise to keep to the one person whose opinion of him Nico actually cared about.

Nico leaned into Golden Boy a little. He wanted to just bump the guy’s shoulder, but he was so fucking tall it didn’t quite work right and felt like more then Nico intended. He brushed it off without comment and hoped no one noticed. He was Nico di Angelo for fuck’s sake, he didn’t fucking do that awkward shit.

“Don’t worry Golden Boy,” he declared taking a few steps forward, turning on his heels, and giving his best smirk back in Will’s direction, “You’re with me Golden Boy.”

“Oh, come on!” Leo exclaimed in protest. Apparently, that was enough to catch his attention from his normal tinkering. Nico hadn’t thought that was even possible. “He’s my roommate,” he pointed out like that gave him some sort of claim over Golden Boy.

Last time Nico checked people didn’t work like that, and Golden Boy certainly didn’t seem to mind teaming up with Nico. It was probably in Nico’s head, but he seemed sort of excited about it although he was definitely trying not to let it show. Again, that was probably just in Nico’s head because Golden Boy was too cute and sweet to actually be into Nico. If anything, the guy was into him because he lacked better options. Olympus was real slim pickings on the hot gay guys at the moment.

Nico wasn’t saying shit about that. He focused on Leo because that was far safer. He pulled his arms over his chest as he retorted dismissively, “Then you should have called dibs.”

“Come on,” Leo whined. He even stomped his foot like a kid having a temper tantrum. It was so fucking ridiculous Nico almost wanted to question Leo’s supposed straightness. The only times Nico had ever had a guy pitch a fit over him hanging with another guy was when that first guy either wanted to fuck or was fucking the guy Nico was hanging around. Of course, he knew Leo wasn’t gay, watching him chase after Hazel for close to a year was proof enough of that but if he was actually straight Nico didn’t know. Nico had no proof, but he just got a vibe every once and awhile that made him wonder. Still, even if he was bi or pan or whatever the fuck Nico didn’t think Leo was into Will he just was acting like a clingy bitch at that moment for some reason. Probably because he recognized that Nico with Golden Boy on his team was impossible to beat.

“Leave it to di Angelo to bring a ringer,” One of the Stolls muttered. Nico was pretty sure it was Connor, but it was really hard for him to be sure. The two were just so fucking similar it was hard to tell them apart even for Nico who had been roommates with one of them for a short period of time and had blown the other one.

Yeah, Nico had an advantage if he was teamed up with Will, and he knew it so there was no point of denying it. He was on the smaller size height and weight wise, something guys Nico hooked up with always brought up right before they asked him to take it up the ass or in some weird acrobatic position or most likely both, and Will was a fucking giant. A hot blond giant with cute freckles big hands and probably a big fucking dick.

Fuck, Nico cursed himself, he really needed to stop thinking about Golden Boy’s cock.

Golden boy for his part was just confused. He looked around the group confused which was fucking adorable. He was seriously like cats on the internet- too cute to live. When no one responded to his evident confusion with an explanation he questioned, “Huh?”

Instead of anyone giving the guy an answer, the other Stoll, Travis, examined him for a minute before questioning, “How tall are you exactly?”

Tall guys were hot. It was almost as much of a fact as musicians, or at least it was for Nico. He didn’t know what it was exactly. Maybe it was the fact that every time Nico saw a tall guy he got to thinking about how they could just pick him up and….. Nico wasn’t even a bottom, at least not since he had first lost his virginity but the idea of a guy just picking him up while they fucked. Of course, Nico was fine with his own size for the most part because where it really mattered, he had plenty to work with, but he still had a thing for tall guys.

Will seemed embarrassed by the mere question. Nico would have sworn that Golden Boy tried to make himself look smaller. He was still pretty physically imposing even if he didn’t have the personality to match. “6’’ 3’,” he answered sheepishly.

Everyone turned to Nico except the Stolls who exchanged a knowing look before turning to Nico. “He could probably pick you up with one hand,” Connor Stoll pointed out and didn’t sound particularly happy about it.

 _Well_ , Nico thought, _that was what was hot about tall guys put perfectly_. He could have said that and make Golden Boy blush scarlet. The thought was so tempting, like Golden Boy’s freckles but he managed to resist the urge. “Kinky,” he declared flatly.

“It’s a _definite_ advantage,” Travis clarified. He might not have sounded as annoyed as his younger brother, but he didn’t sound pleased either.

Nico rolled his eyes. This was just the Stolls making something out of nothing because they didn’t want to lose. If the two would have been annoying beyond belief or tolerance if they weren’t the best way to get contraband in Olympus. “Jason’s 6’’ 1’,” he pointed out defiantly as he pulled his arms over his chest.

“Yeah, but he is teamed up with Percy,” Connor noted, “Less of a weight difference.”

“And you’ll be a team of three with Leo,” Nico pointed out. He was the one that had gone out of his way to go get the sexy blond giant there was no way he wasn’t going to get teamed up with him because it was absolutely an advantage. Nico might not have been as obvious about it as Percy or Jason could be but he definitely had a competitive streak. He wasn’t above bringing in a ringer, or licking said ringer to stake his claim if it came to that. The thing that Nico had learned in his many stays at Olympus, the more you act as if you care about something the more a lot of people will try to fuck with you. Usually if you acted like you didn’t give a fuck people would let things go. Luckily, Nico had years of experience acting unaffected by pretty much everything. He made sure to make a show of rolling his eyes to show how over the whole conversation he was. “I think that balances out any disadvantage,” he lied with disinterest.

“Hey!” Percy exclaimed. “Now I feel like we’re at a disadvantage,” he admitted as he pointed between himself and Jason.

Someone had something to say on that, Nico was sure but Golden Boy leaned down and practically whispered in his ear. Hot breath spilled on his neck, and Nico sort of forgot other people were a thing. “What exactly will I be doing?” Golden Boy questioned. His voice was the perfect mix of nervous and confused.

Nico sucked in a sharp breath as a shiver ran down his spine and tried not to let it show. “Mostly steering,” he informed with an impressively level of cool considering what having Sunshine so close to him was doing to him.

There was a bit more bickering before things got underway. All that mattered was that Nico ended up teaming up with Will making them a shoe in to win. Golden Boy might have been in choir, but he had some serious upper body strength. The second Leo called go Nico was speeding toward the cup tower on his office chair as Golden Boy pushed him toward victory, leaving the others in his dust.

It was an explosion of cups when Nico rolled into the tower seconds after Will released the back of his chair. The Stoll’s sent Leo flying at him, but he ended up rolling through the mess of cups and past Nico without even grazing him. Of course, Leo ended up colliding with Percy which might have been Nico’s favorite part.

It had been genuinely fun, enough in fact that no one even complained about the work it would take to set the cups back up. That should have been warning enough that it couldn’t go on. Fun wasn’t allowed at Olympus if most of the staff had anything to do with it.

A staffer found them, and they weren’t lucky enough for it to be someone like Reyna. The guy had worked at Olympus for a while because Nico definitely recognized him, but he couldn’t remember his name.

Whatever the fuck his name was, he was a real fucking stickler for the rules, so it wasn’t a shock when he lost his damned mind. Seriously, you would have thought he had found them standing over a dead body not a pile of slightly damaged red disposable cups with the way he reacted.

All seven of them got dragged to Brunner’s office. If Nico didn’t know better, he would have said that Brunner actually looked sort of amused by the whole thing. Even if he was, the man was a constant professional, so he did his job. They were forced to stand there and listen to a lengthy lecture about respecting the property of others, maturity, and responsibility. It was all things Nico had heard before, and he was sure the other, minus Golden Boy, had as well. Brunner was decent enough for staff, so no one openly mocked him.

The lecture ended and they were all given strikes. Brunner made sure to give Nico an extra-long disappointed look when he said that. For Nico, that strike meant he would be allowed any visitors on the next visitor’s day, and they both knew it. Brunner didn’t say anything about it, and Nico could only hope the man regretted all the bullshit he had been trying to spew to Nico that morning.

They all went to leave but Brunner asked Golden Boy to stay. It was odd, and they all knew it, but no one said anything. There was just a few exchanging of glances before they left the guy behind.

In the hall, pretty much everyone went their separate ways immediately. The Stoll brothers took off without saying a word, which was to be expected. They were cool enough guys but they weren’t exactly the best of friends with the rest of them. Leo made some comment about how he needed to find a good place to hide his new treasures. The storage room they had been in had been filled with stuff, most of which had looked long forgotten. Nico was sure Leo have found some interesting things to include in his little craft projects. Leo was just good at shit like that. With a quick wave, Percy practically dragged Jason off no doubt to fool around in the nearest dark corner they could find. Jason had let slip once after one too many beers that Percy sort of got turned on by getting into trouble. That information sure as fuck explained a lot and gave Nico fucking nightmares.

With everyone gone, Nico didn’t even have to come up with an excuse for why he wanted to hang back. It wasn’t like he was worried about Golden Boy or anything like that, but he was curious. Brunner wasn’t exactly known for pulling people aside for lectures. He was more of the teachable moment type that just assumed the whole group could benefit from hearing. If there was something that needed to be discussed privately, he would just wait for your individual session. It was just odd that he had asked Golden Boy to hang back.

Golden Boy emerged from the man’s office no more than five minutes later which was good because there was no fucking way Nico was going to wait around much longer than that. He looked surprised to see Nico standing there and then seemed to look around looking for what Nico hadn’t a fucking clue, but he didn’t seem to find it.

Nico pushed off the wall where he had been leaning and tucked his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. “What did Brunner want?” he questioned.

“Oh,” Golden Boy responded. He looked over his shoulder at the door of the office nervously before looking back to Nico. Even though the door was closed he took a few steps down the hall, Nico walking at his side, and when he did speak it was in a hushed tone like he was actually worried about being overheard. “He, ya, told me to be careful about the friends I make while I’m here.”

“Really,” Nico exclaimed with a satisfied smirk. Brunner must have already been rethinking all that good influence bullshit he had been talking about that morning. “I guess he doesn’t think I’m a very good influence.”

“Maybe not,” Golden Boy shrugged, and his cheeks began to pink in a light blush that really brought out his freckles in the cutest of ways, “But you definitely make things interesting.”


	7. Chapter 7

If everything had taken on a weird level of familiarity after a week Will honestly didn’t know how to describe what it was like after a month of being at Olympus. It was still so far from normal it was a little shocking, but at the same time, Will was used to it. He went to group counseling five days a week, and while they usually weren’t as eventful as his first, there usually was at least one screaming match. Every day he had group he also had class if what Olympus offered could really be called that. Despite the fact that he wasn’t the strongest reader (thank you, dyslexia) he actually didn’t mind the student-paced instructional style. He was also extremely grateful to be in a block with Jason rather than Nico and Percy. Jason said Percy was the biggest chatterbox during class because he was always trying to find a way to avoid actually doing work, but Will knew that if he had been in a class with Nico, he would have been too distracted just by his presence. He had individual counseling once a week, which he still had mixed feelings about. Mr. Brunner was a nice guy but sometimes he would ask these questions that seemed like nothing on the surface but in reality, were just too private.

Weekends were still more or less theirs to do with what they wanted. Will was pretty sure they were supposed to use that time to do homework and things like that, but no one actually did that. Most people just hung out with their friends. If they needed to do chores as a punishment people would do that too, but Will didn’t have any experience with that. Even if people did have chores like Percy or Leo, their energy was usually still positive. The weekend just had that power.

After getting his meds, Will headed to breakfast and was seriously confused. It was Saturday, but the energy in the room was dark, and it was only worse at his normal table. He sat down next to Leo and opposite Nico with his whole wheat waffles and strawberries and looked around. Will liked his roommate and the guys, but none of them were particularly easy to read. He could tell that no one except for maybe Jason was particularly happy, but besides that, he was pretty much in the dark.

“Um,” he hummed as he looked around the room, “So what is the deal with today?”

Nico barely bothered to look up from his impressive stack of bacon as he answered matter-of-factly, “It is visitors’ day.”

“Yeah,” Will nodded. He had already known about that.

During his last individual counseling session, Mr. Brunner had a lot of questions about it. Specifically, why Will’s mom wasn’t coming. Will had avoided the direct and most honest answer and blamed her work and the commute. Yeah, he was at the point that he could talk to her on the phone if he worked himself up to it, but he wasn’t ready to see her in person yet.

Will really didn’t get what visitors’ day had anything to do with the general mood of gloom hanging over the entire room. “But um….?”

“Why does everyone look miserable?” Nico questioned finishing Will’s thought as he pointed a piece of bacon at Will for good measure.

“Well, yeah,” Will replied.

“Let me explain,” Jason jumped in.

Jason actually did that a lot when Will had questions. Will was pretty sure that was just the kind of person Jason was. He was definitely used to stepping into the leadership role which seemed weird, at least on the surface, because Percy was actually older, but it worked. He also seemed to want to make Will feel welcome, which Will appreciated even if it was a little awkward.

“Visiting day is great if you have a visitor,” Jason started to explain.

“And if you don’t, you get sent to your room without a dessert like the bad little boy you are,” Nico commented with heavy sarcasm. It was actually pretty funny, at least until he seemed to look right at Will and smirk in that way he did.

Suddenly the room felt too hot, and Will could only sort of remember what they were talking about. He could feel his face warming up too, which just made everything so much worse, and he was pretty sure that had been Nico’s whole goal.

“Um okay,” Will managed to stammer out and immediately regretted it. Will didn’t even know how it was possible, but he could actually hear himself blushing in his voice.

 _Maybe I should just not talk for now on,_ he thought to himself.

“Anyways,” Jason dragged out the word as he gave Nico a look. Jason did that sometimes when Will was pretty sure Nico was teasing him. Will was sure that it was Jason’s way of coming to his defense, but Will didn’t think it was necessary. At least most of the time Will was at least partially sure Nico wasn’t being malicious. He was just being playful or at least that was what Will hoped. Jason turned back to him and continued his explanation without additional comment to Nico. “Leo never has visitors.”

“That’s the privilege of being an orphan,” Leo commented without enthusiasm.

“Percy never has visitors,” Nico jumped in almost excitedly. “Annabeth can’t visit because her mom hates Percy deeply and violently.”

“Thanks for that reminder,” Percy commented not at all sounding happy about it.

“What about your mom?” Will asked out of genuine curiosity.

Out of everyone, Percy was the only one that really talked about having a family. Will knew that Jason and Nico both had siblings but only because Leo had mentioned it. Percy actually talked about his mom relatively regularly, and she sounded like she was really nice. Leo also said she made great cookies.

“She has to work most of the time,” he shrugged. Will could tell he was actually disappointed, but he wasn’t bitter about it.

 _It must have been nice to have that kind of relationship with your mom_ , Will thought to himself. Will had sort of had that with his mom at one point, but that was gone now.

“I can’t blame her for that, but I can blame Jason for abandoning my ass,” Percy stated as he turned on Jason with an accusation written all over his face.

Jason clearly didn’t think much of that if the way he rolled his eyes was any indication. “Piper is actually coming,” he explained.

Will would never say it out loud because he liked Jason and Percy and didn’t want to offend, but he still didn’t get their thing. On one hand, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, but on the other hand, they both talked about their girlfriends with such affection. They both seemed fine with things, but Will just didn’t know how they managed that weird balance.

Like every other time the topic came up, and Will’s mind got to wondering, he kept his mouth shut on the whole topic. That didn’t mean he didn’t say something catastrophically stupid because that just wasn’t his luck. Like a completely unsmooth idea, he looked at Nico and asked, “Do you have someone coming?”

Will was starting to suspect that he had a superpower of saying the exact wrong thing. As everyone at the table exchanged knowing glances, Will realized it had struck again. Nico just looked down at his plate. No one actually answered Will’s question, but Percy did look to Nico with what could only be described as a smug grin. “Do you want to explain or should we?” he asked.

Nico didn’t look up from his plate. He just pushed a few especially crispy pieces of bacon around with sudden disinterest. “It’s not a big deal,” he grumbled under his breath.

Nico wasn’t the biggest talker ever, but Will wouldn’t have described him as quiet either. He just said what he needed or wanted to say and didn’t feel the need to fill the empty space. This just seemed different. It was the first time Will had ever seen Nico actually look uncomfortable with something he was saying. All and all, Will got the impression that it was actually at least somewhat of a big deal.

“So, to answer your question” Percy declared apparently ignoring Nico as he turned back to actually talk to Will, “Yes, Nico has a visitor that he will not see.”

Nico’s plate made a screeching sound as he pushed it aside in favor of pulling his arms over his chest and glared fire at Percy. “You are such a fucking asshole.”

“His sister, Hazel, comes every visiting day,” Percy continued to explain completely unaffected by Nico’s insult. That didn’t exactly seem surprising because Nico called Percy an asshole so often it was practically a term of endearment between the two. There did seem to be something a little different about it this time though. A bit more heat behind it maybe. “But Nico makes it his mission to lose visitor privileges, so she just hangs out in reception all day.”

Another thing Will didn’t completely understand was Nico and Percy’s friendship. Most of the time Percy seemed to be teasing and Nico seemed annoyed, but they had this weird romantic history that Nico talked about so casually it almost felt like a joke. Will definitely didn’t sort of hate that Percy and Nico had been together physically because that would be petty, and he had no right to get jealous because Nico wasn’t even remotely close to being his. Up until that moment most of their interactions, at least coming from Percy, seemed good-natured, but Percy was giving Nico this look that made it pretty clear Percy didn’t approve. It seemed odd and out of place because being quietly disapproving was usually Jason’s thing.

Whatever the meaning behind it, Nico didn’t look amused. He didn’t say anything, but that might have been because of Leo who was raising his hand like an overly excited kid volunteering for something in school. “I’d be happy to keep Hazel company,” he offered with an impish grin.

“I _will_ stab you in your sleep,” Nico declared sharply as he turned his attention on Leo. Nico’s history alone was enough to make him seem believable so the way he picked up his fork and held it aloft in a way that seemed both passive and yet extremely aggressive.

Jason took one look at Leo still grinning and Nico with his threatening cutlery and just shook his head without comment. He then turned to Will and asked, “So is your mom coming?”

“No,” Will answered as he looked down to focus on pushing a strawberry around his plate.

Like Percy, Will was sure that his mom probably had to work, and she really couldn’t afford to take the day off. Waitressing wasn’t the best paying profession by about a thousand miles. That wasn’t even taking into the account the cost of a bus ticket. Of course, she would have done it happily, but Will had asked her not to come. He liked Jason and the other guys just fine, but they weren’t his actual friends. He wasn’t going to tell them any of that.

Will felt weirdly guilty, but the cool thing was no one questioned it. Nico probably didn’t even hear him because he was still clearly contemplating how to best murder Leo, and the rest just gave a nod of understanding. If Will had been talking to Lou Ellen she would have asked him about a million questions. Cecil would have at least asked why. He definitely preferred the no question approach better.

“Listen up Cupcakes!” A gruff male voice called, and Will was pretty sure that everyone turned toward the cafeteria’s entry. The staff that normally worked in the medical dispensary was standing there with a clipboard in one hand and an annoyed expression on his face. Will was pretty sure the man’s name was Hedge, and the expression seemed to be his natural state. “There are people here that actually want to see some of you hooligans, so listen up!” He shouted, “Because I’m not going to repeat myself.”

The room actually went quiet, and that was when Will figured it out, what the weird energy that had been in the room. It was desperate hope. Even if they wouldn’t say it out loud or they acted like hardened criminals everyone in Olympus were still just teenagers, and every one of them wanted to be wanted or accepted on some level. He suddenly felt even worse about telling his mom not to come.

Hedge started reading names off his clipboard, and Will was embarrassed about how few he actually recognized. He had been at Olympus for a while, and the place wasn’t all that big, so he had probably seen everyone around but if they weren’t in his counseling group or his class block, they were just nameless faces that walked the halls.

Nico’s name was not called, and he was one of the few people in the room that didn’t even seem like he was bothering to listen. Will guessed that made sense because he already knew he couldn’t have visitors, but it still made Will wonder why he didn’t want to see his sister. He guessed that would have to be added to the list of mysteries that were Nico di Angelo.

Jason was called quickly, which was to be expected considering his last name started with a G. Percy definitely grumbled disapprovingly under his breath. Jason overheard it too if the way he turned back to Percy after he stood up was any indication, but he didn’t get a chance to say anything. Before he got out a single sound Hedge called out, “Percy Jackson.”

Hedge continued reading off his list while Percy looked around the table with a mix of confusion and panic. It reminded Will a little of that footage you would see on the news of when people found out they had won the lottery. “Did he say Jackson?”

“I think he did,” Jason answered sounding almost as surprised as Percy.

Percy didn’t look assured. Actually, if anything he just looked more confused. “What does that mean?”

“That you have a visitor,” Nico answered in that dry way that only he could. It was cold and sharp and kind of sexy.

Percy looked genuinely offended. Jason probably saw it too if the little smirk he gave the two was any indication. He nudged Percy’s shoulder, getting Percy’s attention. “Come on,” he gestured toward the door, “Let’s see who it is.”

The two walked away, and Will knew it was stupid because he had literally told his mom not to come but he was a little jealous that they actually had visitors. The awkward silence around the table wasn’t really helping either. One look, and Will realized how odd the group that remained was. He had been around Leo plenty because they were roommates, and he ran into Nico now and again without anyone else around, but he had never been in a situation where it was just Leo, Nico, and himself. Nico and Leo always seemed to get along well enough (as long as Leo wasn’t making comments about Nico’s sister), but Will always got the impression they were friends because they were both friends with Jason and Percy. With those two gone, it was like there was no social glue to hold things together.

Will also wasn’t great with awkward silences. It had only been a couple of seconds, but his skin itched, and he was starting to feel twitchy. “So,” he dragged out the word when he literally couldn’t take one more second, “Do you guys wanna….?”

Hang out or something similar would have probably been the best way to finish that statement, but he noticed Nico arch an eyebrow at him inquisitively and sort of forgot what words were. Then, of course, his brain just started to panic because Nico was the guy who joked about orgies and blow jobs and told Will he was a cute drunk, something Will couldn’t make himself stop thinking about. Nico was just so unpredictable. Will had no idea what he was thinking or what he might say. Part of Will was desperate to know while the other part was just terrified, and he was frozen.

“Yeah, actually,” Leo interjected, and Will honestly didn’t know if he was disappointed or relieved. “I told the Stolls that I would help them with a little….project-”

“Well,” Nico declared breaking his gaze with Will and officially discarding the piece of half-eaten bacon he had been holding onto, “I have heard enough to know I want nothing to do with that.”

Leo either ignored Nico or simply decided not to comment as he turned to Will. “You could always join.”

Will let out a nervous humming sound. Leo was a cool enough guy, and at times he almost reminded Will of Cecil. He was a decent roommate and generally fine to hang out with, but he did have a tendency to get in trouble, or more specifically to build things that would cause trouble. Something about that mixed with the general mischievousness that seemed to surround the Stolls was a little worrying.

There was this breathy little laugh that Will was absolutely in love with as soon as he heard it, so of course, it came from Nico. He really had no right to sound so perfect and musical. “Breathe Sunshine,” he declared. He was looking at Will with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Will should probably have been worried. He knew Nico was far more dangerous than Leo, but all he could think about was how Nico was looking at him. He didn’t even care that Nico had apparently come up with another nickname for him. “You can just hang with me,” he stated, and there was something about it that made Will feel like he didn’t have a choice in the matter. “I know just where to take you.”

Will didn’t protest even though part of him thought he should. Nico was the textbook definition of a bad boy. He had literally stabbed someone to get sent to Olympus, so he could have some seriously dangerous or off-limits stuff on his mind. That wasn’t the only problem with going with Nico either. Will was rarely alone with Nico, and it hadn’t happened at all since that one day that Nico had shown him a secret way off the roof. Nico was nice about it, but Will had made such a fool of himself. He didn’t want to do that again, and if they were alone, he felt like he was at risk of doing something stupid.

When Nico led him to the stairs there was a part of Will’s brain that started to panic for a whole new set of reasons. What if Nico was taking him to his room? Will knew Nico didn’t have a roommate. It was something that had been discussed many times. If they went there, they would have been alone in Nico’s room.

Will didn’t know if Nico liked him as a person, and he doubted he liked him more than that. He didn’t even know if Nico thought he was attractive. But Will didn’t necessarily know if any of that really mattered to him. Nico wasn’t quiet about being a… um….well sexual free spirit. From the way he talked, Will was pretty sure all that mattered to him was if he was horny and there was a willing partner around.

How was Will going to handle that if it came up? He had no idea, which was frightening. He was definitely attracted to Nico, and in that way he was willing. But Will had never really done anything sexual before, so he had no idea what he was doing. What if Nico was expecting experience or at least some skill? Will had none of either, and Will wasn’t even sure if he wanted his first ….anything with someone who acted like sex was just another recreational activity like jogging.

That panic played in his mind long after it was necessary. He was so distracted trying to figure out how far he was willing to go if it came to that, and if he should tell Nico that he had never actually…that he totally missed how they went past the fourth floor and kept going.

It wasn’t until they reached the door to the roof that Will realized and felt like a total idiot for worrying in the first place. Of course, Nico wasn’t looking to hook up with him. Nico was gorgeous. He could have anyone he wanted. Will had already made it clear he could have him if he wanted and Nico hadn’t seemed too impressed with that prospect.

Nico pushed open the door with a bit of flourish that was both out of character and yet very him. That was Nico in a nutshell, a mess of contradictions in very pretty packaging that made Will’s head hurt. “Here we are!”

Will looked around and saw Olympus’s roof just as it had been the last time he had been up there. He wanted to see it, whatever Nico was trying to show him, but he just didn’t. He just didn’t and the longer he was silent the more awkward it got until Will felt like Nico could literally read his mind. That was hardly safe.

“Um okay,” Will eventually stammered out with so much awkwardness it was almost painful.

Nico strolled through the doorway and spun on his boot-clad heels to look back at Will. He couldn’t help but notice how graceful Nico was, almost like a dancer. Will was sure it wasn’t even the first time he had had a thought like that, but he was still captivated by it.

“Not what you were dreaming of?” Nico questioned dubiously before twirling back on his heels and walking to a nearby pipe. At first, Will had no idea what he was doing, but when Nico pushed a grate aside, reached into a pipe, and produced a bottle of what looked like whiskey, he thought he was starting to get an idea.

Nico twisted the cap off the bottle and took an impressively long draw. His Adam’s apple bobbed in what had to be the most distracting way Will had ever seen as he swallowed. Dropping the bottle from his lips, Nico looked at Will expectantly, and Will’s heart started trying to beat out of his chest.

“Not exactly,” he admitted just barely. He downcast his eyes to the tar-covered roof to make it at least a little easier to talk.

“Oh, well then the surprise is yours,” Nico declared. That wicked grin was still on his lips as he held the bottle out for Will to take.

Will accepted it mainly because he didn’t know what else to do. If he was nervous being alone with Nico, drinking while alone with Nico was an absolutely horrible idea. He just ended up holding the bottle weakly.

Nico walked to the edge of the roof where there was a low wall. He leaned over it and looked down for a moment, and Will definitely didn’t take that opportunity to check out Nico’s ass. That would have been inappropriate even if Nico did have a perfect looking butt and wore shamefully tight jeans.

Nico turned and Will quickly looked up and hoped Nico didn’t realize where he had been looking. “This place has the best view on visitors’ day,” Nico hopped up to sit on the edge of the roof, making Will’s heart skip a beat as he did. What if he fell? Nico looked unconcerned as he looked over the edge and down to the ground. When he turned back, he was grinning. “Look at all the little people,” he declared, gesturing below.

It wasn’t like Will had a fear of heights or anything. Actually, heights didn’t bother him all that much, but that didn’t mean he wanted to dangle his head over the side of a five-story tall building. But Nico was looking at him with his dark eyes, and it really made thinking hard.

Will stepped forward. He wasn’t bold enough to actually sit on the edge like Nico, but he did lean over to look down. There actually seemed to be an impressive amount of activity below around the entry to Olympus.

“Oh wow,” Will exclaimed with genuine surprise. In some ways, Olympus could be pretty busy. There were a lot of residents, none of whom seemed particularly worried about being disruptive. That being said, there wasn’t a ton of actual employees, at least not that Will saw. Below, people were coming and going like Olympus was a happening coffee shop or movie theater and not an only borderline tolerable place. “You can see everyone arriving from up here,” he marveled as he watched a woman with two younger children in tow pushing her way into the building.

“Pretty much,” Nico agreed, and he didn’t sound nearly as impressed as Will did.

Will just watched for a minute and started to wonder about the people below. The likelihood was Will had probably at least seen the family member they were there to visit. He wondered if they came often or if their visit was special. Were they excited about the visit or did they think of it as a chore? He wondered if Jason or Percy’s visitor was amongst the people he could see coming or going. It was probably stupid, but he started wondering about Nico too.

“I guess your sister could be amongst them,” Will commented after a long pause. It was probably an invasion, Will realized the moment he said it. He just couldn’t help but be curious. Nico never talked about himself, unless it was to joke about his bad behavior. He already had an air of mystery to him, and that really just added to it.

“No,” Nico answered flatly as he grabbed the bottle from Will’s grip. He unscrewed the cap and took a long pull from the bottle’s contents. When he pulled away from the bottle he went back to looking down at the people below. Will wanted to describe the expression on his face as thoughtful or even regretful but, with Nico it was always so hard to tell. “Knowing Hazel, she was here first thing in the morning,” he explained.

Nico had a sister, and she was apparently stubborn. Will had no idea what he was supposed to do with that information, but he still made a mental note and filed it away for later. As an only child, Will’s understanding of siblings was limited, to say the least. The closest thing he had to experience in that area was Lou Ellen and her older brother, Alabaster. He had been off at college the last few years, but Will remembered him as seeming pretty cool, and kind of hot, not that he would ever tell Lou that, but Lou usually only mentioned him to complain about him being a drama queen or in some other way annoying. Nico clearly had a different type of relationship with his sister because while he didn’t really talk about her, he seemed protective of her, and he definitely had feelings about not seeing her, even if Will wasn’t sure what those feelings were.

They both stared down at the people for a long moment before Will felt too awkward standing there and had to say something. “Did she know that you lost visitors privileges?” he asked and then immediately wanted to smack himself. It was such a stupid and borderline offensive question. It really was no wonder it wasn’t clear how Nico felt about him because Will wasn’t clear about how he felt about himself especially when he acted like such an idiot.

Nico didn’t seem bothered. He just shrugged and hopped off the ledge and moved to sit on the roof, so his back was resting against the low wall. “I told her, but that has never stopped her from coming,” he explained before taking another long sip from the bottle. “She’s stubborn that way.”

He handed the bottle to Will which he took and sipped at without really thinking. He didn’t take as large of a sip as Nico did and as the liquor burned its way down his throat, he was infinitely glad for that fact. “That’s sweet of her,” Will commented because apparently, he was determined to continue to sound like an idiot. He moved to sit next to Nico before he tried to save it and was only moderately successful. “I mean, you two must be really close.”

“Yeah, I guess we are,” Nico shrugged, “I mean, all things considered.” Will had no idea what Nico meant by that and he genuinely didn’t trust himself to ask. It seemed like every time he tried to talk to say anything to Nico it came out in the stupidest way possible. Luckily, Nico kept talking which Will was pretty sure was a first. “And yeah, sweet is the perfect way to describe Hazel,” he explained. Will thought he noticed a little smile play across his lips. He had seen Nico smirk and he had seen him grin wickedly, but he wasn’t sure he had ever seen Nico really smile before. He should do it more often because it really looked good on him. It was short-lived before Nico snatched the bottle from Will’s grasp and took another long pull from its contents. He swallowed it and his Adam’s apple bobbed distractingly. He let out a sigh as he brought the bottle down to rest between them. “It makes her stubbornness harder to deal with,” he admitted.

Will nodded and picked up the bottle to give his hands something to do. Taking a sip, Will was surprised that the liquor didn’t burn as much as it had the first time. It was still sort of unpleasant, but it didn’t feel quite so much like he was swallowing fire. He made a conscious effort not to think about the fact that Nico’s lips had just been on that bottle.

There was a stretch of silence and it wasn’t exactly awkward, but it still made Will nervous. He rolled the bottle between his hands to give himself something to do, but that only worked for so long. “So,” Will started when he physically couldn’t take the silence a single second longer, “Have you ever been able to see her on visitors’ days?”

Nico looked over at him with an inquisitively arched eyebrow. “Why so curious?” He questioned instead of actually answering.

“Don’t know,” Will shrugged. It was such an awkward motion it actually physically hurt. In an attempt to cover that he took a quick pull from the bottle before answering, “Maybe I’m just trying to make conversation.”

Nico nodded before reaching out and took the bottle from Will’s grasp. He took such a long sip Will didn’t know how he didn’t pull away gasping. “Once,” he admitted gravely as he looked down at the bottle that was still in his grasp, “My very first visitors’ day my first time here.” He let out a little sound that Will guessed was supposed to be a laugh, but it completely lacked any signs of actual humor. “It was a fucking disaster,” he explained as he continued to stare off like he was picturing it in his mind or just over the horizon. “Hazel wouldn’t stop hugging me, and she cried.”

Will didn’t actually shutter at the thought, but it was a close thing. There were about a million reasons Will asked his mom not to come, and the fact that he knew she would cry was one of them. It would be so hard to be angry with her when he had to sit there and watch her cry. “That must have been difficult,” he finally managed to mutter because he knew he had to say something.

Nico just shrugged before holding out the bottle to Will. He took it because it was Nico and he didn’t know what else to do. Nico just seemed to watch him as he brought the bottle to his lips and took a small sip. There was an intensity in his gaze that made Will feel like he was trying to see into his very soul.

“So, what’s your deal?” Nico finally asked breaking the silence but not releasing Will from the feeling that he was being critically examined.

“Um,” Will hummed nervously. He thought he could start to feel the effects of the alcohol taking hold but wasn’t sure if it was that or simply his heart beating so fast it felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest. “I’m an only child.”

“Good to know, but not what I was asking,” Nico explained quickly. He sounded so amused and there was suddenly this almost playful little smirk on his perfect lips. Will was positive his heart couldn’t handle being on the receiving end of this kind of attention from someone as beautiful as Nico. “Why don’t you have a visitor?”

Without really thinking Will started to chew at his bottom lip nervously. He could still taste the lingering hints of alcohol there. That wasn’t really something Will wanted to talk about, but how could he not after Nico had so willingly shared things about himself. He looked down at the bottle still in his hands as he answered, “My mom lives pretty far away, and she probably has to work.”

It was such a non-answer, and it barely counted as the truth, and Will was embarrassed by it. He didn’t look up from the bottle in his grasp because examining the clear liquid seemed safer than meeting Nico’s soulful gaze.

There were a few seconds of silence, and he felt Nico shift next to him. A hand with long slender fingers entered his view and wrapped around the neck of the bottle. Will let him take it as he looked up to see that Nico had moved so he was facing Will dead on. “So that’s it then?” he questioned with an inquisitive arch of his eyebrow before bringing the bottle to his lips and taking an impressive gulp of its contents.

Will didn’t have to say anything. He could have sat there in silence and let Nico believe that was the whole story. It would have been the smart, safe thing to do, but his mouth had different ideas. He looked down at his feet resting on the roof in a pair of beat-up yellow converse and said the one thing he had told himself he would tell no one. “I asked her not to come,” he admitted

“Why?” Nico questioned, sounding genuinely interested.

It was none of Nico’s business, and he could have told him that much, but it had been none of Will’s business about Nico’s sister, but Nico had still answered. How unfair would it have been if Will suddenly shut down the conversation and what would Nico think of him for doing something like that? Nico was the most unreadable person Will had ever met and he knew he should just give up on trying to make the guy like him, but he still wanted that and maybe even more.

“I don’t know,” he answered, which was both a lie and the truth all at once. Will knew exactly where everything went wrong and how he felt, but he still missed his mom. He missed when she would bring home pie from the restaurant she worked at, or how sometimes she would let him stay home from school when she had the day off so they could spend time together. In a weird way, he even missed her dragging him to church. Olympus was a pretty crowded place that also happened to be extremely lonely. Still, at the end of the day, he just didn’t miss her enough to get past what she did, but how could he explain that? He shrugged in an attempt to make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal, but he could feel how awkward and stilted the motion was. “I guess I’m still sort of mad.”

There was silence for long enough that Will thought the whole topic of conversation was actually over. It was a nice hope and also completely wrong. “And why is that?” Nico asked sounding as inquisitive as ever.

Will looked up to see Nico staring at him with interest. He was sitting cross-legged with the bottle of liquor between his thighs right in front of his crotch and was absently twisting the cap on and off. He seemed so genuine, Will wasn’t completely sure he even knew who this Nico was. He certainly seemed different from the snarky, lewd guy that he was used to, but he also reminded Will of when they had first met outside of Brunner’s office. It was confusing, which Will probably should have been used to by now because so much of his life was, but he just couldn’t handle it.

“Do you actually care?” Will asked. He didn’t mean to, but he came across as defensive. He could deal with Nico’s teasing, but he didn’t want to be the butt of a joke. He had dealt with enough of that already.

Nico didn’t seem bothered. He just shrugged before answering, “I’m definitely curious.” He uncapped the bottle and took another sip before offering it to Will, “And who would you rather tell, me or a therapist?”

Will took the bottle and took a large gulp. Apparently, the taste of cheap booze was growing on him because it wasn’t half bad. Swallowing the liquid, he set the bottle between them on the roof. “It’s stupid because it isn’t completely her fault, but I’m mad that I’m here at all,” he explained, and he didn’t even worry what Nico would think about that. He was at Olympus too, and it wasn’t his first stay, so he could think less of Will for hating it.

“Aren’t we all,” Nico commented. He picked up the bottle and took another sip, maybe a little smaller than the previous ones. Either way, his Adam’s apple still bobbed in an almost provocative way. He returned the bottle to its place between them as he added, “Although you did seem to get an especially big shit stick.”

That certainly was one way to put it. Will actually wanted to laugh because he was right, but it was so far from funny. He did feel himself smile a little as he shook his head, “You don’t even know the half of it.”

“You could tell me about it,” Nico offered.

Again, he sounded so sincere, but the idea of talking about it with anyone made Will feel beyond exposed. The whole conversation was making him feel increasingly vulnerable, but at the same time sort of connected. That probably didn’t even make sense or maybe what Brunner kept telling him about how just talking about things could help him heal was actually true.

“Seriously?” Will questioned hoping he could play it cool or at least cooler than he actually felt.

Nico thought about it for a second before shrugging, “It isn’t like I’ve got anything better to do.”

It was such a casual throw-away way to ask Will to share the most embarrassing and horrible event of his life. There was something about Nico’s eyes that made him feel like he could talk about it. He let out a long sigh and tried to steely himself for reliving the whole nightmare. “It all started with a party I didn’t even want to go to,” Will began to explain, which was probably the understatement of the century. Looking back, Will wondered if he somehow knew before that it was going to end horribly. “My friends dragged me to it.”

He, Lou, and Cecil had never been popular or anything like that. They certainly didn’t run in the type of circles that got invited to parties. Or at least that was the case until Cecil somehow became the go-to person in their high school if you wanted booze for your party. Will still didn’t know how that had happened, but it was Cecil, so he didn’t ask. Cecil got the invite because he was providing the booze and made the extremely bad decision of telling Lou Ellen about it. She insisted that they had to go. Will didn’t know why because Lou never acted like she had a craving to be part of that kind of crowd. Her motives really didn’t matter because when Lou Ellen had her mindset to something, she was going to get it.

“No good story starts that way,” Nico commented.

Will didn’t notice Nico pick up the bottle or take a sip. He didn’t even notice when he tilted the bottle in his direction as an invitation. The next thing he knew the bottle was in his hand. He took another sip before passing it back to Nico.

Thinking back to that night, Will just had to shake his head because taken out of context of everything that happened after it wasn’t bad. “It actually was a fun night,” he admitted. Yes, Will had felt out of place and that was when he learned he absolutely hated the taste of beer, but he had fun. The music had been surprisingly good, and even though that wasn’t the crowd that Will belonged to everyone was nice enough. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, Will reminded himself before he painted some fairy tale memory of the night.

Sighing, Will snatched the bottle off the ground and took a large gulp as he worked up the nerve to talk about the next part. “And there was this guy,” he admitted. God, saying that to Nico was just extra embarrassing. “He is a year older and like Captain of all the good sports teams,” he explained. Weirdly he felt like he was both overselling and underselling Michael at the same time. Michael was all of those things, and Will would have been lying if he said that he hadn’t thought the guy was cute since pretty much ever, but he was also that typical self-absorbed, arrogant popular guy that Will never wanted anything to do with. Except he wasn’t like that at the party….

“Uh-hu?” Nico commented breaking Will from his train of thought.

When Will looked up he found Nico staring back at him curiously, but it wasn’t just curiosity. There was something else in his dark eyes that Will couldn’t quite name. He could try to wonder at what that could have meant but trying to figure Nico out in the best of times was impossible, and this definitely wasn’t the best of times.

Will picked up the bottle and took several long swallows before returning it to its resting place and pushing his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know really how it happened,” he explained. He didn’t know how many times he had said those words. Maybe a million, maybe more. There was Lou and Cecil and then, of course, trying to explain everything to his mom while she cried. He had said it so many times it was just reflex even though Will didn’t believe it. He knew exactly how it happened. “We had been talking and getting along really well,” he explained.

That was the thing or at least one of the things that still got him. It wasn’t like Will had gone to the party hoping to hook up. Dating just wasn’t a thing he thought he would be able to do until college at the earliest. He definitely hadn’t expected to have anything to talk to Michael about. They practically lived on different planets, so Will didn’t think they would have anything in common. Michael had actually approached him and struck up a conversation. They talked about choir and the track team making state and what was up with Principle Smith’s hair. Michael was so nice the whole time, and…..

“I had a few beers and then we kissed.” Will’s stomach turned as he relived the whole thing. “God, in hindsight it was such a horrible decision,” he admitted. He remembered Lou Ellen asking if he had kissed Michael or if Michael kissed him, and Will honestly didn’t know. He wasn’t a big drinker, and it had seemed like every time he emptied the beer in his hand Michael was handing him a new one. The end of the night was sort of fuzzy.

Apparently, Will had learned nothing because as his stomach rolled at the memory, he picked up the bottle and took another gulp. “By Monday the whole school knew I’m gay,” he explained as he returned the bottle to its place between them.

He was skipping part of the story, but that part was just hard to explain. It wasn’t like Michael had freaked out at the party or anything after the kiss, at least not that Will remembered. He had left not long after because Lou Ellen, who had driven, had to get home. There was no scene, and he didn’t think anyone had seen them. Actually, that was one thing he was sure of because on Monday while everyone knew he was gay, no one was talking about Michael. The rumors about how people knew he was gay varied from mildly insulting to completely ridiculous, but none of them involved Michael. And if that wasn’t proof enough there was everything that happened after.

Will let out a sigh and felt himself deflate slightly before continuing, “There was this group of jocks leading this ugly anti-gay bullying campaign against me.”

Nico made this dismissively little sound that was sort of like a snort but far sexier. When Will looked toward him he was shaking his head disbelievingly as he picked up the bottle. “That is such a politically correct way of saying being homophobic fucking assholes,” he observed before uncapping the bottle and taking a long pull.

He was right and Will knew it. It wasn’t like he was trying to turn the other cheek or anything like that. It wasn’t like he hadn’t called them all worse while everything was happening. It was just that his feelings about it were still weirdly conflicted in the beginning. That was pretty much gone the moment he had gotten sent to Olympus. Of course, that just left him feeling embarrassed that he had ever felt that way or had ever been that stupid.

Will almost just let the story fall off there. He had already shared more than he had ever planned to with anyone. He could leave out the really embarrassing bits and not feel guilty, right?

But Nico was staring at him with his dark soulful eyes expectantly, and Will just couldn’t stop. As much as he considered Nico a complete mystery there was also something about him that felt….safe. Maybe not in every way because in some ways he could seem quite dangerous, but Will didn’t think he would judge him.

He let out a long sigh before stating with resignation, it wasn’t like he could change the past. “You’ll never believe who was leading it,” Will commented.

There was a pause, and in reality, it was probably only a second or two, but it felt like an eternity. Nico paused with the bottle halfway from his mouth and looked up at Will for a moment, and Will was pretty sure for the first time ever he could read Nico’s mind, or at least he could see the wheels turning. He didn’t drop the bottle as he spoke, “Captain of all the good sports teams?”

“Yup,” Will admitted with a nod. He reached out for the bottle and snatched it out of Nico’s hand without even thinking about it. That was so unlike him, and Will didn’t even think about it. Maybe it was because his mind was a million miles away. It was so fucking stupid it was practically a gay cliché. Will didn’t know what he had honestly expected to happen after he kissed a straight, or at the very least closeted, jock. The sad truth was Will had been genuinely shocked and … hurt by it. It wasn’t like Michael was just a passive participant in all of it. At least from Will’s perspective, Michael was the driving force behind most of it. Will took a large gulp from the bottle before admitting, “I tried to ignore it and just deal, but after a while…..” Will paused. Michael and his stupid joke friends were just vindictive about the whole thing. He thought to take a sip from the bottle, but his head was already spinning, and he thought better of it. He set the bottle down between them heavily and admitted, “I guess I snapped.”

Nico immediately snatched up the bottle and tipped it in Will’s direction with a clear look of approval. “Good for you,” he declared.

Will smiled despite himself and his own resentment. It was nice to know that someone could understand. It wasn’t that he thought that Lou Ellen and Cecil couldn’t see how fucked up everything was as it was happening, but they didn’t get it, not really. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to, but they just couldn’t completely understand it because they weren’t gay. They just couldn’t get what it was like to be outed without their consent.

“Maybe,” he agreed reluctantly (or at least not proudly), “But punching him in the face probably wasn’t the best idea.”

Will had spent weeks trying to ignore all of it, but there was no escape. The snickering behind his back and the whispers were bad, but if that had been the extent of it Will could have dealt with it. As time passed, instead of getting better things just got worse. Snickering and whispers were replaced with insults and hate speech scrolled across his locker. Sideways glances turned into thrown elbows in the hall and shoving. There had been a time where Will had been genuinely scared for his safety it got so bad. He played it off, or at least he tried. His mom was already crying enough, and it was clear that none of the staff at his school had any interest in intervening, so there wasn’t a point. Will just tried to avoid Michael and his friends whenever he could because they were always the worst.

Will didn’t go out of his way and he hadn’t been looking for a fight. His mistake ended up being forgetting his math textbook. Stupid, right? He ran back to his locker to get it, and the next thing he knew he was getting pushed into a nearby bathroom by three large football players. It was all just too much, and Will was just so tired of being scared all the time. He reacted and it was honestly a relief, and more than a little satisfying.

“Wait,” Nico stopped him sounding a weird mix of amused and horrified, “You hooked up and then punched the preacher’s kid?

“Oh,” Will exclaimed. He had forgotten that he had told Nico that part of the story already. That had been such a random confession to a complete stranger. It went to show how much of an effect Nico’s pull had on him. “Yeah, they are one and the same.”

“Well, fuck,” Nico commented. It was the first time Will managed to say something that would actually make Nico look a little taken aback. It didn’t last long but it was there for at least a few seconds. Will weirdly appreciated that reaction because Nico was the first person that he had talked to about the whole situation that could understand truly how fucking horrible it all had been.

Will could have gone into everything that had happened following that fateful incident, but there wasn’t much of a point. He just let out a long sigh and slumped slightly before continuing, “After that, his dad and the vice principal pretty much browbeat my mom into sending me here for ‘my own good’.” Will couldn’t even pretend like he bought that line. Michael’s dad, the pastor, was known for his conservative views and had no problem yelling about the sin of homosexuality on Sundays. The vice-principal actually seemed sort of nice until he found out Will was gay and then it was clear that he saw Will as a plague that had to be purged from the school. So, apparently, he had been a homophobic prick all along and had just been hiding it all that time.

“And now I’m here for defending myself,” he commented as he gestured around at the roof.

Nico shook his head disapproving, “Fuck.”

“It gets worse,” Will admitted before reaching out to snatch the bottle out of Nico’s hand. His stomach was turning itself in knots and even though he knew it wouldn’t help any he hoped the booze would help. He took several long pulls before resting it on the roof between them.

“How the fuck could it get any worse?” Nico questioned. He sounded a mix of disapproving and horrified that was both kind of sweet and also very out of place, at least for Nico. Will was so used to him acting largely unaffected with a dash of sarcasm. It was almost like Will was seeing a totally different side of him.

Maybe it was that, the sense that Nico was showing him something new and maybe even private, that made Will feel like he could admit the one thing he hadn’t told anyone, not even Lou Ellen, about the whole situation. “That night, that-” the words caught in his throat. Will again found himself reaching for the bottle of liquor hoping to find a little courage in its contents. He swallowed down the fiery liquid in a large gulp before continuing, “That was my first kiss.”

Will didn’t know if it was the booze working or if he had just lived with that knowledge for so long he couldn’t really be affected by it anymore, but he didn’t feel the embarrassment he expected having said it out loud. It was probably stupid that he even thought it mattered. Michael had turned out to be a liar and a bully who went out of his way to ruin Will’s life, anything beyond that didn’t really matter except it did, at least to Will.

Nico snatched the bottle of booze and took a large gulp, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. “Well, that’s bullshit,” he declared with force as he wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. That should have been a disgusting gesture, but from Nico, it was almost provocative.

Nico held out the bottle and Will took it without thinking. He took another sip, and honestly the liquor didn’t even taste unpleasant anymore. He nodded in agreement as he set the bottle down and commented, “Tell me about it.”

“No, that’s not what I mean,” Nico declared suddenly seeming extremely serious, “That shouldn’t be your first kiss.”

Nico was staring at him with such intensity, Will struggled to find words. He didn’t know why Nico cared so much, but he was weirdly flattered. He was also extremely flustered by all of it. “Yeah, I know,” he managed to agree under his breath.

“So, don’t let it be,” Nico stated like the solution was just common sense.

It was a nice thought. Will definitely would have loved to change things because the whole disaster was not how he wanted to remember his first kiss, but it just wasn’t that simple. “I don’t think it works that way,” he pointed out sheepishly.

“Well, it fucking should,” Nico stated, “Some self-hating closet case shouldn’t get to ruin your life and take your first kiss.” He snatched the bottle from its place in between them and took a long sip. He then pulled the bottle away from his lips but didn’t set it down. Instead, he used the bottle to point at Will as he continued to talk passionately. “It isn’t fucking fair,” he declared, “We don’t get a say in who are shitty parents are, or being here, or the people we lose, or so many other fucking things….You should get a say in that.” He shook his head dismissively, took another long pull from the bottle and then added, “You should get to choose.”

Will blinked a few times as he tried to process what was just said. Everything Nico said was right and the passion with which he said it was relatable but still unexpected. “I mean, I did,” he commented after a minute. “It wasn’t like he kiss-ambushed me or anything,” Will admitted, “He was actually really nice at the party and I was into it.”

Nico was still holding the bottle of liquor in his hand, and Will couldn’t help but notice how much of it appeared to be gone. He remembered the bottle had been full when Nico had first produced it from its hiding place, and now it looked to be more than half empty. The liquid sloshed back and forth as Nico used the bottle to point at him once again. “Yeah, but you didn’t have all the information,” Nico argued. “What you were into was a fucking lie, and that is fucking bullshit,” Nico paused and gulped impressively at the bottle’s contents before setting it back on the ground with a thud. “Fuck him! He doesn’t get to be your first.”

Nico spoke with such finality, and Will got the impression they weren’t just talking about Will’s experience. It made Will wonder even more about Nico then he already did. He seemed so experienced and in control when it came to his…um…personal relations. Was there a chance that wasn’t always the case? No one could really just be like that without reason, right? Was there a story, or a person, behind why Nico acted like relationships were jokes and sex was just a casual thing.

“Um well…,” Will stammered and retrieved the bottle in an attempt to hide his awkwardness. Beyond making Will wonder at Nico’s history what Nico had said had been incredibly nice. Will hadn’t even known he had been waiting for someone to say something like that to him, but he had. He took the smallest of sips from the bottle and returned it to its place. “I guess now you know my story,” He admitted awkwardly. He peeked over at Nico before adding, “What’s yours?”

Will wasn’t even sure what he was asking. Was he asking how Nico had ended up an Olympus or was he asking something far more personal? He honestly would have been happy with an answer with either.

The intensity Nico had only moments before seemed to slip away and he picked up the bottle and sipped at the contents. After returning the bottle to its resting place he just shrugged. “Mine is not nearly as interesting,” he admitted. “This asshole in shop class wouldn’t leave this one girl alone,” he explained, “I told him to shut the fuck up, but he wouldn’t, and she was clearly upset, so I stabbed him a little with a screwdriver to prove a point.”

“That is quite the point,” Will commented without even really thinking about it. That wasn’t the story he would have expected from the punk rock guy that he had met on his first day at Olympus, but the more he got to know Nico the more it made sense.

“He did stop talking, so it worked,” Nico admitted with a shrug. He reached for the bottle and picked it up but didn’t actually drink. Instead, the wickedest little smirk spread across his perfect lips. “There was some crying, but that was kind of funny,” he offered more to himself then Will.

He was talking about stabbing someone with a screwdriver with such amusement. Will realized that that should have been terrifying, but he found himself charmed. He wanted to blame it on the fact that Nico was ridiculously hot, but it wasn’t just that. What he had done while wrong was also really…kind.

“You know that was nice of you, in a weird way,” Will pointed out without really ever thinking about it. He reached out and took the bottle from Nico’s grasp and sipped at its contents. It must have been really good liquor because it was actually starting to taste kind of good. “You are actually a really kind person,” he observed wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand.

Nico did the most unsexy, unattractive thing humanly possible and actually managed to make it look sort of good. He snorted. “Holy shit, you must be really fucking drunk,” he exclaimed dismissively, but there was also some sounds of disbelief in it.

“No, you are,” Will insisted. His tongue was starting to feel thick, and he didn’t know why, but he wasn’t really worried about it. “You do it in weird, rude or violent ways but you are,” Will stated with utter certainty, “I think that is amazing.”

The moment the words left Will’s mouth he realized he sounded ridiculous. He really thought it was true, but he knew better than to say anything like that out loud. He had to be drunk. That was the only possible explanation. Whatever the reason, Will was positive that he would never be able to live down the embarrassment he felt. He already had suspected that he would never have a shot with Nico, but now he was sure of it.

Nico didn’t react the way Will would have anticipated, which was beyond a relief. Instead, he seemed almost amused as he shook his head dismissively. He reached out and took the bottle from Will’s grasp, which was for the best and took a long sip from its contents. “You think whatever you want,” he stated as he rested the bottle between them, “Just don’t go spreading that around. I have a reputation to uphold.”

 _Reputation_ , Will had to let the word roll around in his mind for a minute before it really made sense. Nico wasn’t shy about who he was or what he did, so Will guessed he would have a bit of a reputation, at least if Olympus was a normal school. But it wasn’t, and Will wasn’t aware of any reputation. Of course, he didn’t really talk to people except for Leo, Jason, and Percy, and he doubted they would talk about things like that. If it was a normal school Nico being so openly gay and so openly sexual would not lead to a good reputation that was for sure, but Nico talked like his reputation was something he was genuinely proud of. It again had Will wondering what had made Nico so driven to keep people at a distance.

At least he wasn’t so far gone that he let any of that slip because he doubted that Nico would have been nearly as amused by that. Will just nodded seriously, like way more seriously than was necessary, and replied, “Of course.”

They remained on the roof for a while, but the conversation was sort of a blur. Will knew that the it remained light, especially compared to what they had already talked about, but beyond that, it didn’t really stick. He made an error to stop drinking which weirdly was an effort even though Will wasn’t a drinker and normally hated the taste of liquor.

Will didn’t know how much time had passed when Nico said something about lunch and moved to stash the now mostly empty bottle back where he had found it, but he followed without question. Nico took him his secret way through a storage room, and Will at least managed to not common about how graceful Nico looked climbing in a window (again).

Will really didn’t know how Nico managed it, but he always seemed to know how to walk around Olympus unseen. It was so strange that someone so beautiful could walk around as unseen as a shadow. Somehow Nico managed it. He slipped out of the very off-limits storage room and started down the hall without being noticed.

Will could have just followed Nico and been happy to be hanging out with him because he was cute and smart and surprisingly sweet, but Will’s mouth apparently had different ideas. They had just stepped back into an area where residents were actually allowed to be when Will just stopped. Nico didn’t notice or didn’t care and just kept walking, and Will just watched him for a few seconds. Nico always wore skinny jeans so watching him walk away always offered a pretty fantastic view.

“Nico,” Will called without thought. The name felt good to say aloud. There was something about it that just felt right on his tongue. Will had never noticed that before, but now that he had he just wanted to keep saying it.

“What?” Nico questioned as he stopped and turned to look back at Will just standing there. He seemed almost surprised to see Will stopped several steps behind. He huffed and walked back, closing a lot of the distance between them. “Please tell me you’re not going to throw up,” he stated. It could have so easily sounded harsh or annoyed, but Will thought Nico sounded a little concerned for him. Will was stupidly flattered.

“No,” Will assured with a little laugh as he shook his head. He was buzzed at the very least. There was really no denying it even though it didn’t feel like Will remembered it feeling before. His thoughts seemed to stir overly slowly and without any real direction which Will remembered from the few previous times he had been drunk, but his body also felt tingly, and he felt lighter somehow. That was new and not necessarily bad.

He licked his lips absently before tilting his head to meet Nico’s gaze. “I just, um, thanks for today.” He managed to mutter. It wasn’t enough. Will was pretty sure he would never be able to thank Nico enough for listening and understanding, or for making a day he had been dreading into a really good memory.

Nico was silent for a moment. Just long enough that Will started to wonder what he had said wrong and why Nico was staring at him so critically. Then Nico shrugged like it was all nothing and some of the tension left. “It was partially selfish,” Nico dismissed with an ease Will was really starting to suspect only Nico could have, “I wasn’t going to spend the day hanging out with Leo.”

 _Why did Nico do that_? Will wondered. Whenever anyone tried to say anything remotely nice to him or about him, he would downplay it.

“But everything you said was really-”

Nico held up a hand stopping Will in the middle of his sentence and rolled his eyes dramatically. “Don’t mention it,” he stated insistently, “I just spoke the truth.”

Before Will could even really think, Nico turned on his heels and started walking away. Will’s brain was painfully slow to start working. Will just knew he needed Nico to know how nice, and kind, and pretty, and kissable he was.

_Nico had to know that._

_God, he was so completely and utterly kissable._

“Nico?” Will called out as he took a step forward. He wasn’t really sure what he was doing at that point, but Will felt driven to do it like it was really important.

Nico stopped, turned, and looked back at Will. He could have been annoyed, but he didn’t look to be. Instead, he just looked a little nervous, like he still wasn’t convinced that Will wasn’t going to be sick.

It wasn’t until Will’s feet started moving that he truly realized what was happening. Will was going for it. Lou was going to be so proud of him.

He caught up with Nico in two large strides. There was a moment where Will became painfully aware of how much shorter Nico was compared to him. Even though Nico didn’t talk all that much, he had such a big personality Will never thought of him as small, but there was a moment as he stood where it was hard not to. He forced himself to ignore it along with his nerves as he brought a hand to rest on the back of Nico’s neck and leaned in.

There was a moment where their lips touched, and it was like fireworks. Nico’s lips were soft and perfect, and Will was sure that it was his destiny to kiss Nico again and again. But then the moment passed. and Will felt how tense Nico seemed. The kiss quickly went from perfect to extremely awkward.

Will hoped it was in his head but when he pulled away it was clear that it wasn’t. Nico’s expression was hard, and his eyes were wide with horror. They just stared at each other for a second before Nico turned and started down the hall with new determination. It just got worse when Will looked after him. If Will had planned to call after him the words died in his throat the moment he saw Jason and Percy standing toward the end of the hall. Will was instantly sure they had seen everything, which was just insult to injury.

Nico stormed right past the other two guys without a word before disappearing around the corner. As soon as he was out of sight, both Percy and Jason turned and looked at Will, and it made it all so much worse. Will wasn’t even sure what had just happened, and now he had an audience looking at him expectantly.

Will was frozen by the disaster of everything, so he just stood there as Jason and Percy walked toward him. That was bad enough, but when he finally managed to do something it was to say the stupidest thing ever. “What just happened?” he questioned almost numbly.

“You tell us,” Percy commented. Was he laughing? Will couldn’t help but notice he sounded amused. Considering it was Will’s life going up in flames because his own inability to read social situations or make good life choices, Will wasn’t sure he appreciated that. “We only caught that last bit,” he added, and he was definitely smirking as he jutted his thumb in the direction Nico had disappeared.

Jason gave Percy what Will suspected was supposed to be a subtle nudge but failed, at least on the subtle part. Percy looked at him with the most ridiculous pout Will had ever seen, not that Jason seemed to care. “You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want too,” Jason assured. He obviously was much more sensitive about the situation then Percy and that was surprisingly worse.

Will couldn’t stand to look at either of them, so he just starred off to the place where Nico had disappeared around the corner. “I don’t understand,” Will admitted as he was trying to play the day over in his mind. He obviously had massively misread the situation because that was his stupid life, and in some ways, he could see how but in a lot of others…..“He…I…he was being so….. _nice_ ,” he admitted, “I’m so confused.”

“It’s not your fault,” Jason was quick to assure. He sounded so filled with regret, which was just the worst possible thing. “We should have probably warned you. Nico has a thing about touching.”

“Unless he’s known you for a really long time any touching has to be on his terms,” Percy added. He had somehow picked up Jason’s pity. If he could go back to being amused with Will’s pain that would have been great in Will’s opinion.

Will looked between the two for a few seconds and sputtered. He heard their words, but he didn’t understand. He and Nico had touched before, Will was sure of it, and he didn’t think that Will had had an invitation. Had Nico always been the one to start it? Will couldn’t remember and the more he tried the more panicked he felt.

Nico had to have a reason to be so guarded about physical contact, and then there were a few of the things he had said earlier. At the time it had made Will wonder, but now he was sure he had triggered some sort of trauma by pretty much kiss-attacking the guy. How could he be so insensitive? Nico was probably going to spend the next several months at best openly avoiding him or at worse actively hating him.

“Don’t worry,” Jason assured as he reached out and patted Will’s shoulder. If that was meant to be reassuring it failed. “Give him a day or two and it will be like nothing happened.”

Will really wanted to believe Jason. From what he knew Jason had known Nico for a really long time so he should know how Nico would react to things. But it was just so hard to believe. Nico had looked completely appalled.

Jason and Percy spent a few more minutes trying to assure him that it wasn’t a big deal before Will played along just so they could stop talking about it. Also, he kept catching these little looks between Jason and Percy when he was pretty sure they thought he wouldn’t notice that was making him even more nervous. He hung out with them through lunch because even though he assured them he was fine they didn’t really leave him much choice. They tried to keep things light, and they didn’t bring up Nico, which was appreciated, but Will was still relieved when he was finally able to get away from them.

Free of Jason and Percy, Will went back to his room to lament over his failures. There was a moment he considered trying to find Nico to apologize. He hadn’t come to lunch, so Will guessed he was probably in his room. Will had never been to Nico’s room before, but he knew it was on the fourth floor because that was where everyone that didn’t have a roommate was, but Will couldn’t imagine going room to room to try to find him. Besides, Nico had made it pretty clear he didn’t want to be around him.

He had a few hours where he was alone in his room before Leo came back. Will didn’t ask about what he got up with with the Stolls, and Leo didn’t ask him about his day. Will was thankful for that even though he pretty quickly began to suspect Jason or more likely Percy had already told Leo what happened. That was embarrassing enough, but at least Leo didn’t bring it up.

Leo was great that way.

Will ended up skipping dinner because he didn’t want to risk going to the cafeteria and seeing Nico there. Instead, he ate some peanut butter crackers that he had stashed under his bed. It was far from a nutritious or filling dinner but as he replayed what happened over and over in his head, he didn’t really have an appetite anyway.

He wasn’t actually sure if he just wanted to go to sleep for the night or if he was really dreading lights out. Either way, the end of the night approached, and before Will really could get out of his headspace it was ten minutes to curfew.

Will sat in his bed trying and failing horribly to do homework while Leo sat at his desk tinkering with some bits of wire and muttering to himself. From an outsider that didn’t know that Will had made a complete jackass out of himself only hours earlier, it could have looked like a normal night.

The knock came on the door at Will’s four or fifth read-through of the same paragraph from an English assignment without understanding any of it. He didn’t even bother to look up from the stupid book because he was sure it was for Leo. It almost always was.

“Hey man,” Will heard Leo greet in a familiar way. It was probably one of the Stolls stopping by to debrief over whatever crazy thing they had gotten up to that day, Will thought as he continued to stare at his book. “What’s up?”

“Not much,” the person answered casually. Will immediately recognized the smokey male voice the second he heard it and was almost too frightened to look up. He did because he just had to know and saw Nico standing just inside the door to Will and Leo’s room.

Standing there with his dark hair, black skinny jeans, black t-shirt, and alabaster skin with an air of aloofness, Nico was almost like smoke or maybe a bored sex god. Thinking like that probably didn’t help Will any but it wasn’t like things could get much worse. 

Nico took another step into the room and leaned on the corner of Will’s desk as his attention remained on Leo. “I sort of need you to take a walk,” Nico told Leo matter-of-factly.

“It’s like five minutes until curfew,” Leo replied, and it sounded like a mix of protest and straight-up dismissal.

Will found himself looking back and forth between the two like he was watching an especially intense tennis match. Nico probably was there to tell him to fuck off and never try to touch him again, which was horrifying and depressing and probably a thousand of other things, but Will found himself sort of hoping Leo would leave.

Nico crossed his arms over his chest in that cute sexy way that Nico did before retorting, “Your point?”

There was a moment that might as well have been a century where Nico and Leo stared at each other in a silent battle. Will watched the two and thought he was going to die if it lasted one second longer. It ended when Leo let out a long sigh. “Fine,” he commented as he heaved himself out of his chair. “I guess I’ll go see what Jake Mason is up to,” he stated as he headed for the door. He did stop and give Nico an openly annoyed look, “But don’t make it an all-night thing.”

“Thanks, Leo,” Nico said in that flat sarcastic way he often did as he watched Leo head for the door, “You’re the best.”

Will thought he might have seen Leo roll his eyes before walking out but couldn’t be sure from the distance. He didn’t say anything else before walking out the door, and as soon as he was out of sight Nico pushed off the desk and reached out to shut the door.

Hearing the door click shut, Will was suddenly struck with a whole new kind of panic. Since what had happened earlier, he had been so worried about Nico just hating him that he really didn’t think beyond that. Now Nico was in his room and they were completely alone. Nico could yell and scream at him or he could do worse and there was no one there to come to Will’s rescue.

Will hoped that his nerves didn’t show as he shut his textbook and tossed it to the floor so he could sit up a little straighter on his bed. Considering his luck, Will doubted he could get so lucky, but he still could hope.

“Um,” Will hummed. Nico turned and looked at him, and Will suddenly found his mouth uncomfortably dry. He licked at his lips which didn’t help at all as he took a moment to remember how to make words. “What are you doing here?”

Nico’s eyes stayed on him even though he didn’t speak. He just walked further into the room until he came to Will’s nightstand where he began to lean much as he had on Will’s desk a few minutes earlier. There was an intensity in his dark eyes that was both enticing and frightening.

Now not only was his mouth dry but Will could feel his hands sweating. If Nico was going to yell or hit him, he just wanted him to get on with it because he was pretty sure his body couldn’t take the stress of his silent intensity much longer.

Maybe it was that those growing nerves, that pushed Will to talk. He sighed and pushed his fingers through his hair in an attempt to at least seem calm. “Look, I’m sorry about earlier, I thought-” Well, Will had thought since Nico had said some nice things to him that he might be interested in him. Even remembering the thought, Will felt stupid and naive. He couldn’t say that, and in the end, it didn’t even matter. “Well, I clearly misread the situation, but you don’t have to worry.”

Nico gave him a curious look and tilted his head a little to one side as he questioned, “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Will assured. He felt himself relaxing a little. Nico wasn’t yelling, and he didn’t seem to be interested in hitting him. Actually, there was a calm about Nico as he sat there that was almost contagious. “I mean, I can take a hint,” he stated even though he wasn’t sure if Nico running away after he kissed him was a hint. It was more like a statement. And that statement was he had no interest in Will whatsoever. “It won’t happen again,” he stated hoping it didn’t show in his voice that that thought didn’t disappoint him more than a little.

Again, Nico said nothing. He just made a little humph noise that was kind of cute, but Will had no idea what it actually meant. Will waited, hoping that Nico was thinking and that he would eventually say something, but the silence continued to stretch, and Nico remained silent.

Will didn’t know how long they sat there like that, but he couldn’t take it one second longer. “So are you going to actually say anything or…” Will wasn’t sure if it was shame or embarrassment, but he just couldn’t meet Nico’s gaze for even another moment. He looked down at his hands and hoped Nico would show him some mercy and say something.

What happened next was so unexpected that Will struggled to believe it was real. He felt the cool touch of calloused slender fingers against the skin of his cheek. The surprise of Nico’s hand sliding across his skin was enough to get Will to look up. When he did he found Nico was leaning toward him with his smokey eyes half-lidded.

 _Is he going to kiss me_? Will wondered even though that was impossible.

The thought had only just crossed his mind when Nico’s lips met his. They were as soft and perfect as Will remembered them being, but the kiss was nothing like it had been before because Nico was kissing him back.

At first Nico kissed him softly. Will wouldn’t have described it as tentative, but it did feel a little like he was testing the waters. As soon as Will was able to get over the utter shock that Nico was, in fact, kissing him, he was happy to truly kiss back.

That seemed to be what Nico had been waiting for, like a silent confirmation of Will’s interest even though how Nico could doubt how much Will wanted him he didn’t know. The kiss went from something soft and almost sweet to something deeper and almost needful.

Nico’s hand moved from resting gently on Will’s cheek to the back of Will’s neck, pulling him in as he moved from leaning on the nightstand to sitting next to Will on the bed. Will shifted for a better angle and somehow in the process, their legs had become entangled.

Will had never done more than kiss another boy, and he had never actually made out with anyone before. That alone would have probably been enough to make Will feel dizzy, but Nico really knew what he was doing with his lips. They moved against Will’s lips masterfully intermixed with the occasional nip of teeth or teasing slide of his tongue. Nico could have taught a masters class in kissing, and Will was absolutely drunk from it. Will kissed back, trying to match Nico’s enthusiasm and skill and hoping he wasn’t making a complete fool of himself.

Nico was too perfect to exist, Will was suddenly certain. He was dark and ethereal in a way that no person had any right to be. His voice was smoky and alluring, and He was witty and mysterious. That alone was just too much, but he also smelled amazing and kissed like he had invented the act. Will was pretty sure that he was secretly an actual sex god.

A surprisingly strong hand splayed itself on Will’s chest and pressed him back in a subtle but insistent manner. Will didn’t resist. He was too drunk off Nico’s lips to think of doing anything besides what Nico wanted. Even if he wasn’t, he would have done whatever Nico wanted. The most gorgeous boy Will had ever seen in his life was in his bedroom kissing him. Will was pretty sure he had died and gone to heaven.

Will laid back on the bed and Nico was practically on top of him but not quite. Nico lay next to him with his hand still splayed on Will’s chest and one of his legs hooked over Will’s so his thigh was pressed between Will’s as they continued to kiss. Will was pretty sure he could feel Nico’s….um….well….his excitement pressing against his hip as they continued to kiss heatedly. It was almost like a dream but far too vivid. Will was pretty sure he could have happily lived in the moment forever.

Something changed, and it wasn’t Nico’s perfect kisses, or the heat of his perfect body pressed against Will. It wasn’t until he felt nimble yet strong fingers press under the waistbands of both his Will’s sweats and briefs to wrap around the base of Will’s erection unapologetically.

Will had been embarrassingly hard since the moment Nico sat next to him on the bed. He shuttered involuntarily at the contact, and again when Nico pulled him from the confines of his clothes into the fresh air.

No one had ever touched Will there except himself, and he had never imagined that when Nico had shown up at his room that this was what would happen. Nico’s fingers were cool and slightly calloused, but they were also both slender but strong. Just wrapped around the base of him, Nico’s grip felt so good it was difficult to think. Will managed it and more, but it felt like he was fighting through tidal waves of hormones and his own desperate desire. He pulled away from Nico’s lips with a whine he couldn’t control escaping his lips. “Nico, you…ah…you don’t have to-”

Will felt Nico’s lips kissing along his jaw in the most salacious and teasing way. “Do you really want me to stop?” he questioned. Nico’s voice sounded like liquid sex. It was the call of a siren, and the hot breath that spilled across Will’s throat only added to the allure.

Will was already conflicted. He was beyond attracted to Nico and he, like every other healthy teenage boy, wanted someone he thought was sexy to have their hands on his dick, but this was just so fast. Will had been convinced that Nico hated him ten minutes ago and now Nico wanted to jerk him off. That was one hell of a change of pace. Will wanted this but he also wasn’t sure but then Nico’s hand started moving. They were slow almost lazy motions clearly not meant to actually bring Will to climax, just fill him with a desperate need for more.

“Aw…,” Will whimpered as he tried to think through the feeling of Nico’s lips still kissing along his jaw and his hand moving on him. He made the grave mistake of opening his eyes and looked down his body to Nico’s hands on him. Nico was a smaller guy even if Will never thought of him that way. His hand didn’t look small slowly working up and down Will’s length. It also looked like an absolutely perfect fit. He felt himself shutter and knew it would be a long time before he would be able to touch himself without thinking about how Nico’s hand looked wrapped around him. “No, I just….I’ve never-”

Nico let out the softest sound that Will thought might have been an amused laugh. “Don’t worry,” he assured before moving from Will’s jaw to suck at his earlobe. “I know what I’m doing,” he promised in a hot whisper that sent a shiver down Will’s spine.

Will wouldn’t have doubted Nico’s words, but Nico seemed dead set on proving he knew his way around a dick. Lazy strokes turned to masterful motions. Nico handled Will’s erection with more skill then Will probably could have. It left Will speechless and panting as Nico drove him speeding toward his climax.

He came embarrassingly quickly and with a shamefully loud and desperate noise. He felt his cum start to soak through his t-shirt as Nico gave him a few last strokes stretching out the receding waves of his orgasm. It wasn’t until the last of the fireworks started to fade and his body started to calm that the world truly came back to him.

Will dared to open his eyes just as he felt Nico’s body leave his side. Nico had sat up and taken a moment to wipe his hand absently on Will’s sheets before moving around Will with ease to climb off the bed. Will watched all of that with confusion.

_What was happening? Where was Nico going?_

It wasn’t until Nico took his first obvious step toward the door that Will’s panic overtook the almost blissful confusion. He sat up quickly and reached out just in time to catch Nico by the wrist and by surprise if the look Nico gave him was any indication.

“Wait,” Will declared even though Nico didn’t have much choice with Will still holding his wrist. “Where are you going?”

Nico arched an eyebrow at him and smirked in the most amused (and maybe slightly condescending) way. “Its past curfew,” he informed which, Will guessed, was an answer in its own way.

Time wasn’t a thing that Will had been in tune with while they had been together, but he believed what Nico said. Will had always been a rule follower. It was one of the many reasons that him even being in Olympus in the first place was so insulting. Curfew was a big deal too, but Will found that he couldn’t care less.

His eyes wandered briefly over Nico’s wiry frame, and he may have lingered on what he hoped was the outline of a telltale bulge in Nico’s pants. Will knew he couldn’t perform with the same level of skill that Nico had shown but he wanted desperately to try. Looking back up to meet Nico’s gaze he questioned sincerely, “But what about you?”

“Oh, that’s tempting,” Nico replied with almost dismissive amusement before a more serious expression began to color his features, “But I should go before your roommate gets back.”

 _Right, Leo_ , Will thought. He had actually completely forgotten Leo…existed, but he guessed that made sense even if he absolutely hated it. It just felt so uneven and wrong, and even if it didn’t, Will still didn’t want Nico to leave. It didn’t seem like he had much say as Nico turned and once again started toward the door.

He couldn’t take it. The whole experience had been so weird and unexpected, and Will just couldn’t let him go. He was on his feet before even he realized what he was doing. A half a step and one quick motion Will caught Nico by the wrist and stopped him in his tracks. The moment Nico turned to give him a confused look Will leaned in for a kiss. It wasn’t a hot, passionate kiss like they had been sharing a few moments before. It was soft, quick, and almost bashful.

Will could feel his cheeks burn as he pulled away which was so stupid, but that in some ways felt like the most intimate thing to pass between them that night. “Um,” he hummed nervously before licking his lips. He could still taste Nico on his lips like as shadow lingering at the break of dawn, “Goodnight I guess then.”

Nico shifted slightly on his feet. “Yeah,” He muttered suddenly quiet as he looked down at where Will held his wrist. Embarrassed, Will let go, and Nico carefully pulled it back toward his body. “Goodnight, Will.”

Nico left, and as truly surreal as the whole experience had been Will only allowed himself a few seconds to marvel at it before making quick work of cleaning up. By the time Leo returned from where ever he had been hiding, Will had changed his clothes, tucked his homework away, and was in his bed pretending like he was asleep while his mind raced.


	8. Chapter 8

It wasn’t hard to avoid staff on his way back to his room. They all talked big about curfew, but most were too fucking lazy to actually walk the halls to enforce it. Nico still took the long way back to his room, mainly to avoid an awkward run-in with Leo. The last thing he needed was to see him and get an annoyed look or even worse- a look like he _knew_.

He didn’t need to be judged by Leo of all fucking people. The guy should have just been fucking thankful Nico didn’t murder him for how he chased Hazel for fucking months. It wasn’t like he had gone there planning to jerk Golden Boy off. It just fucking happened.

If Nico thought he would find some clarity or peace of mind once he was in his own room, he was wrong. All he could think about was the way Will tasted as they kissed, how firm his body felt as they had been pressed together, and his huge cock in Nico’s hand.

 _Fuck_!

Nico stripped out of his clothes and climbed into his bunk with no illusions about what he was going to do. His blood was still running hot, and his own dick was still hard and straining in briefs from his time with Will. Part of him wished he had stayed long enough to let Will return the favor. He had certainly seemed willing and even without skill, Nico imagined those big hands of his would be able to get him there without a problem. Imagining that, Will’s hands on him, definitely wasn’t helping Nico think clearly.

It was a genuine relief when Nico kicked off his briefs, and his painfully hard dick was allowed to spring free. Once he was laid out on the bed, Nico didn’t even try for skill or even faness. He just wanted release and thanks to Will, or at least Nico’s fantasies involving Will, it didn’t take long for Nico to get there.

After he finished, Nico made quick work of cleaning himself up and getting ready for bed. Why he was in such a rush, Nico didn’t know. It wasn’t like he was actually going to be able to sleep. As soon as he laid down his mind started running.

 _What was I thinking_? He wondered. Yeah, Will was hot and cute, but Nico didn’t do guys like that. More importantly, guys like Will didn’t do guys like Nico. At least not when they had any real choice.

 _It was Will’s fault for kissing him in the first place_. If Will hadn’t done that Nico would have never gone to his room. They would have continued to just hang around with each other and occasional sort of flirt in an awkward way. It would have been frustrating as fuck, but it would have fucking worked.

 _Why the fuck did I go to his room_? Yeah, Nico hadn’t gone there planning to jerk the guy off, but he really fucking wanted to, so it really wasn’t a fucking surprise. Yeah, Will had fucking kissed him, and that had been a fucking surprise. Also, because Nico’s luck was absolutely horrid, Percy and Jason saw, but he didn’t have to make a think about it. He could have just avoided the guy for a few days and then acted like nothing happened. Will was a quiet guy, so he probably wouldn’t have said anything.

 _Why the fuck did Will have to kiss him after_? Nico figured that things would be fucking awkward for a little bit, but it didn’t have to be worse than that. Or at least that was the case until Will had to kiss him all soft and affectionate like they were boyfriends or something.

_How was Nico supposed to be around the guy after that? Why couldn’t anyone just do the fucking casual thing? It wasn’t that fucking hard!_

From there Nico quickly spiraled down a hole of self-doubt, confusion, and eventually self-hatred. He barely slept as his mind raced with all the things he had done wrong, and all the ways he had ruined things. They weren’t thoughts Nico hadn’t had before. They were the same thoughts he had after every random hook up, but somehow it was also worse. It wasn’t like Nico didn’t know his purpose in such things. That Nico had learned at fourteen when one of his father’s enforcers had pulled him into a private corner of the house. Minos had been all compliments and praise at first, but very quickly Nico’s role in things had become clear, and Nico learned. He could give and get physical pleasure with skill and efficiency as the need arose, but he never felt quite clean after. Normally when Nico felt an attraction, he acted on it quickly, so he could just get past it, but he had been so focused on keeping his promise to Hazel Nico had tried to ignore the pull he felt toward Will. Now that he had finally given in to it he regretted waiting for so long. It was just made everything so much worse.

The night was long and restless. Nico spent more time tossing and turning and occasionally checking the clock then sleeping. He laid in bed and watched the time for med check, morning group, and breakfast pass without any will to get out of bed. He still wasn’t feeling particularly driven when the fucking nurse of all god-damned people budged into Nico’s room to inform him in no certain terms that Brunner wanted to see him immediately.

How that man had become a nurse Nico had no fucking clue.

Nurse Hedge’s gruff demeanor didn’t really drive Nico to do really anything. Nico lived with a man who made his money off death and destruction, and that was his father. A crotchedy old man-nurse was barely worth Nico’s damned time, but he still got up eventually. He skipped the med line entirely because the pharmaceutical giants had yet to find a cure for all the things that were wrong with him. He skipped the cafeteria too because the mere thought of food made his stomach roll unpleasantly.

He slumped into Brunner’s office, and the man didn’t even bother to look up from his stupid fucking paperwork as he commented, “You missed group.”

Brunner looked up at him and then nodded to the available chair across from his desk, but Nico didn’t sit. They had done this whole thing before, at least in some variety, and Nico wasn’t going to play along. He stood by the door, pulled his arms over his chest, and replied with disinterest, “I know.”

Nico was keeping his distance, so he couldn’t hear it, but he was sure he saw Brunner sigh heavily before dropping his pen. He looked up at Nico, and he looked exasperated. If the situation was different Nico might have taken pride in that because Brunner was usually pretty hard to shake. “May I ask why?”

Nico just shrugged dismissively, “It’s 9 o’clock in the fucking morning.” It was a lie, and an obvious one at that, but there was no way he was going to tell Brunner the truth or anything close, so he was going to have to deal with it.

“Ah-ha,” Brunner did that thing where he was obviously thinking about it and trying to figure it out. Real problem was that Brunner was actually a pretty perceptive guy. So much so that Nico often wandered who the fuck the guy pissed off to get exiled to Olympus because he was smart and good enough at his job to be somewhere better. “Any other reason you’d like to share with me?”

The questioned was loaded, and they both knew it. Nico guessed it was his turn to deal with something he rather not. “Not really,” he answered. He went for the patented aloof, slightly confused, and generally oblivious tone that he was pretty sure only teens could pull off, and he thought considering how shitty he felt he did a decent enough job.

Brunner nodded and stared at him thoughtfully for just long enough that Nico started to feel genuinely uncomfortable. “Mr. Solace seemed distracted,” he finally interrupted the silence with the last possible thing Nico wanted to hear, “Would you know anything about that?”

Why did that question sound like an accusation? Why was Brunner so insistent on thinking that there was something connecting Nico and Will. He was just some fucking guy. Olympus was a big enough place, and there were plenty of guys floating around. Golden Boy was just one of them. Just one of them that was sexy as fuck, too nice to be there and Nico had jerked him off.

_Fuck!_

“No,” Nico replied, “Why would I?”

Brunner just fucking nodded again like he knew the truth, “Ah-ha.”

Brunner was just so dismissive and sounded so sure. Brunner talked like he knew what happened just from the way Nico was standing there or maybe just because it was Nico and some guy. Nico got more mad with Brunner then he had in a long time, and by the time he left his office, he had another strike and an earful to go with it. He was informed in no uncertain terms that simply skipping group wasn’t an option. If Nico didn’t feel comfortable with morning group for whatever reason he would need to come to another during the day, and he was expected to make up the session he missed. Nico didn’t get why Brunner seemed so fucking frustrated about the whole thing. He would think one less mouthy teen in a group would be better. Clearly, he had different feelings about the situation.

It felt like forever before Nico was allowed to slick back to his room, and apparently, he wasn’t done with his shit day yet because Percy and Jason were there waiting for him. The moment Nico saw them he knew they weren’t there to make sure he was okay or check on him in any way just from the look on their faces.

“Shouldn’t you two be in class or off fucking or something,” Nico questioned with disinterest, and he stomped into the room. He just wanted to drop into his bed and sleep for a few decades and didn’t have the interest to amuse whatever the fuck they wanted.

“You missed group,” Percy pointed out almost nervously. Why the fuck he sounded nervous Nico didn’t know and he didn’t want to find out.

Nico pushed between where Percy and Jason stood and flopped on his bed. “Wasn’t feeling it,” he offered with an impressive level of disinterest, at least in Nico’s opinion. To him, he almost sounded like nothing was wrong at all, which was impressive considering.

“Right,” Percy declared with a nod. He sounded so fucking unconvinced it was fucking offensive, and that was before Nico actually looked to see the disbelieving look Percy and Jason were exchanging.

Jason huffed and gave Nico that look that made it painfully obvious that Nico was going to get a fucking lecture. “I thought you weren’t going to do this this time,” Jason declared.

It wasn’t a lecture exactly, but there was so much judgment in the words it might as well have been. “Do what?” Nico questioned back. He sounded defensive, which hadn’t been the goal, but Jason deserved it for sounding so high and mighty.

“Are you really going to act like we don’t already know?” Jason retorted sharply. He almost sounded pissed like Nico had something to fuck his life. Last time Nico checked he hadn’t done shit to him, and as much as Jason liked to think otherwise, he wasn’t Nico’s dad or his brother. He didn’t get a fucking say in his life. Jason was also fucking Percy, so he really had no room to judge Nico for his bad fucking choices. Everyone that actually knew Percy and Jason knew the whole fuck-buddy thing they were playing at was going to blow up in their fucking faces, and it was only a matter of time.

Annoyed, and feeling a headache coming on Nico was about ready to point all that shit out in no uncertain words, but before he could Percy stepped in. He literally took a half a step, so he was literally standing between Nico and Jason. “Dude, we love you,” Percy declared. He was obviously trying to do the whole ‘voice of reason’ thing, which coming from Percy was so ridiculous it was almost fucking laughable, “You know that.” He took a pause and looked between Nico and Jason. Why he felt the need to check on them he didn’t fucking know. It wasn’t like Nico was going to haul off and punch Jason in the face. He would tell him to fuck off, but he wouldn’t hit him. It was fucking Jason for fuck’s sake. “And normally if you wanted to randomly hook up with a guy we’d support-”

“Will is a nice guy,” Jason interrupted abruptly, surely seriously hurting his chances for a blow job from Percy for the foreseeable future. “And he seems to be really into you,” he stated insistently.

Nico just rolled his eyes. What the fuck did Jason know about anything? Will was a horny gay guy, and Nico was gay with a reputation it wasn’t hard to figure out what the guy was hoping for. Yeah, he was a nice guy. He was too fucking nice to be in Olympus, but that didn’t change reality. Actually, it just made things worse. Will was too nice to like Nico for anything more than a quick lay. If Jason didn’t insist on trying to live in some sort of fucking fantasy world, he would fucking see that. Nico, on the other hand, was a realist and knew exactly where he and Will stood.

Percy sighed, and he might as well have waved a literal white flag. Unfortunately, Jason couldn’t just give up too. Instead, he just looked more annoyed, even though Nico still didn’t get what he was getting annoyed over. “Don’t do that thing you always do!” Jason almost growled.

A flame sparked somewhere in Nico and he moved from being annoyed to being genuinely fucking angry. What the fuck did Jason know about what he normally did? Yeah, they all hung out a lot when they were stuck in Olympus together, but outside they saw each other occasionally at fucking best. And even if they were un-fucking-separable, what the fuck was that supposed to mean. “What do I always do?” Nico questioned sharply.

“You make it about sex and push people away without giving them a chance to be anything more than a random hook-up!” Jason shouted back at him.

Percy sighed, and he didn’t say it, but Nico could tell just by the look on his face that he agreed with Jason. The day was already shitty enough, Nico didn’t need their fucking judgment on top of everything fucking else. He glared fire at the two of them as he retorted heatedly, “Well if that is what I do I’m clearly not very good at it because you two are still fucking hanging around.”

“Not because you haven’t tried,” Jason growled back.

Nico was done. He was done with Jason’s judgments, and he was done with Percy’s silent agreement, and he was done with the conversation. He moved around both of them and dropped on his bed without a word. He had every intention to ignore Jason and Percy’s existence until they took a fucking hint and left. Jason still had some lecturing left in him before he calmed the fuck down. They didn’t just leave, and Nico wasn’t really was successful in just ignoring them, but they eventually reached some level of understanding. Jason was still disapproving, but he was at least quiet about it, and Nico pretended like it didn’t bother him, so they didn’t have to talk about it.

By the time Percy and Jason did finally leave his room, Nico was exhausted. He stayed in his room as long as he could to avoid any awkward encounters, but eventually, he had no choice but to venture out. Nico was good, but not even he could survive off M&Ms alone.

He thought he was so careful. He took the back routes toward the cafeteria, which added time to his trip but should have assured he wouldn’t see anyone. He was just going to quietly slip into the cafeteria grab something staff wouldn’t give him shit for trying to take to his room and leave before anyone noticed.

He didn’t even make it to the cafeteria. He turned a corner and practically walked into Will of all fucking people because that really was his luck. Escape was impossible, and worse yet Golden Boy looked so fucking relieved.

“Nico!”

“Ay,” Nico replied. If he could have literally crawled out of his skin he would have, the moment was such a fucking nightmare. “Yeah?”

Will’s head tilted to one side, which was kind of cute even if he looked confused as he asked, “You’re trying to avoid me?”

Nico wanted nothing more than to be able to just step into a shadow and vanish, so he didn’t have to do this.

Nico let out a long sigh and rolled his eyes dramatically. “Figure that out all on your own?” he questioned with heavy sarcasm. He pulled his arms over his chest and slumped a little to one side to really sell his disinterest.

Golden Boy blinked and took a half a step back. If Nico didn’t know better, he would have thought he had hit the guy with the way he reacted. Will was a nice boy, that should have been enough to scare him off, so Nico could move on with his miserable fucking day, but it apparently wasn’t. “What’s your problem?” he questioned. He didn’t actually sound angry but more aggressive then Nico would have expected.

Good for Golden Boy, Nico thought before arching an eyebrow at the guy inquisitively, “How much time you got?”

Again, Golden Boy looked confused. He blinked a couple of times and then his cheeks started to darken as a blush started to spread across his face. The pink flush brought out his freckles, and Nico realized he had never gotten to learn how far those freckles went. That was a lost Nico was definitely going to regret.

After a few seconds, any boldness Golden Boy might have gone, and he started looking around the hallway nervously. Flustered, he seemed to be looking at everything but Nico. When he spoke, his voice was so quiet and uncertain, “I just thought after last night…”

Nico huffed because he couldn’t let Will finish that sentence. He physically couldn’t handle it. It happened, Will got what he had been wanting, and now they needed to just move the fuck on. It wasn’t that fucking hard to understand.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he declared before Golden Boy could say something his brain couldn’t take.

“What?” Will questioned sounding so much like a broken baby bird it was hard to hear.

Jason’s words were still playing in his head. Jason didn’t know fucking shit about anything. Nico was doing Will a fucking favor. Everyone needed to mind their own fucking business and let Nico live his fucking life.

“I would say it was just sex, but it wasn’t even that,” Nico stated dismissively, “It was just a fucking handjob.”

Will pulled back, tucking his arms over his chest almost protectively. “Why are you being like this?” he questioned.

He sounded….so hurt. Hearing it made Nico feel like he was having his heart ripped out of his chest. Nico almost felt guilty, but for Golden Boy’s sake, it had to be done. After all, guys like him didn’t want guys like Nico. Not really.

“Dude, you’re being a clingy bitch,” he declared, “It’s pathetic.”

Will stammered, and Nico couldn’t take it one more second. He turned on his heels and walked back the way he had come before Will could say anything else. Suddenly Nico wasn’t hungry.


	9. Chapter 9

It had been several weeks since that night with Nico and the confrontation the next day if it could even be qualified as that. It wasn’t like Will had said anything that wasn’t….. _pathetic_. That was what Nico had called him, and Will wasn’t sure he had been wrong.

At first, Will had been absolutely miserable. As much as he had told himself that there wasn’t a chance that anything would happen between him and Nico, once something actually did there was a moment where he realized he had been waiting for it to happen like it was an inevitability. It was all so fast, too fast really, but Will had been absolutely elated for the few hours before the rug was metaphorically ripped out from under him.

At least Will had figured it out. There was something wrong with him. There had to be. Will had never dated. He had never even tried really. Still, his first kiss and his first….well sexual experience had both turned awful the moment they touched Will. It was like physical contact with Will poisoned their soul. Maybe Will had whatever the opposite of the Midas touch was. He was starting to wonder if he should just consider a life a celibacy.

He hadn’t wanted to see people. He hadn’t even wanted to get out of bed. He did because going to group and class was required, but it wasn’t like he could focus on anything. Will had done something wrong, obviously, but he didn’t understand what.

Was it his inexperience?

Was he too eager?

With time, his misery gave way to other emotions. He still wanted to understand, but the more he thought about it the angrier he got. He had been nice to Nico because he had genuinely liked him even when he said things that made Will blush. Maybe he had liked him too much or maybe he had been too eager, but that didn’t give Nico the right to use him as he did or to be such an ass about it. Will wanted to hate Nico. He didn’t, but he wanted to more than almost anything.

As if all of that wasn’t bad enough, it wasn’t like Will could just avoid Nico. Olympus really wasn’t that big, so they were bound to run into each other, or they should have. Ever since Nico told him off and had become like a ghost. He didn’t come to morning group anymore and Brunner clearly didn’t expect him to show up. Will would see him come to meals once or twice in a day, but half the time he just took food and left.

Jason and Percy were still really cool with Will and they always invited him to sit with them during meals. Will wanted to, but they were really Nico’s friends, and although Will never told them exactly what had happened between him and Nico, he was pretty sure they knew. He didn’t want their pity. Will would sit on occasion, but it wasn’t like it had been.

When Will had first arrived at Olympus people hadn’t seemed like they were going to line up to make friends with him. Will didn’t really fit into any of the established clichés at Olympus, and he had never expected to find people there that he had anything in common with but strangely enough he did once he stopped hanging around the “lifers” as Austin called them.

Just like before, Will fell into a routine at Olympus. It might not have been as interesting as the original one, but it was at least a bit more predictable. And on days that he went without seeing Nico, it was almost tolerable.

Of course, not everyone agreed with Will’s choice to just move on. Lou Ellen had a very strong and contrary opinion on how Will should have handled things, and in a very Lou Ellen fashion, she had absolutely no problem telling Will that. She did so much in fact, if she had been anyone else Will would have just stopped talking to her, but she was Lou Ellen. Will just couldn’t do that.

“You should say something to him!” she had practically growled at him after Will had explained what happened.

It wasn’t like Will hadn’t expected her to say something like that because it was a pretty Lou-esque reaction, but he didn’t want to deal with it. She was so angry like Nico had personally done something to her. Will knew that her primal rage was her way of caring but sometimes it was exhausting. He regretted telling her what happened almost immediately.

“Lou, what’s the point?” he had asked with a heavy sigh. He knew the answer of course. There was no point. “What’s done is done.”

Yelling and screaming at Nico wouldn’t change anything, and it wouldn’t make Will feel any better. It was just a waste of energy, and Will was pretty sure he couldn’t look at Nico without feeling like he was getting stabbed in the stomach.

“Will!” Lou Ellen chastised. Her anger had apparently shifted to Will even though he was positive he didn’t deserve it. “This isn’t about changing what happened!”

“Then why?” Will had questioned. He really did love Lou like she was his sister, but he genuinely regretted telling her about the whole thing. Instead of being comforting she just wanted to tell Will what he should be doing. He knew he should have expected it because she had done the same thing with Michael at first. She had spent weeks trying to figure out a way of letting the whole school know that Michael had been the guy Will had been kissing at the party and didn’t see that all Will wanted was for the whole nightmare to be over. “Why put myself through that?”

Will wasn’t sure of much but one thing he knew for sure was he couldn’t take hearing Nico call him pathetic again. He didn’t see how a confrontation would end any other way.

“Because you can’t just let some fuckboy take advantage of you and then act like a dick!” Lou Ellen had growled on the other end of the call.

Again, Will was sure that it was coming from a place of friendship and all of that, but he really wished she hadn’t said it that way. Why did she have to say Will was taken advantage of? Things hadn’t turned out like Will had wanted or really expected, but he didn’t know if that was accurate. Or, maybe it was, and Will just didn’t want to think of himself as a victim.

“You have to stand up for yourself eventually!”

“What does that mean?” Will had asked with agitation.

“It means that you’re doing the same thing you did with Michael,” she had replied. For someone who was his friend and was supposed to be being supportive, Lou’s statement felt a lot like an accusation. Will didn’t know when he had become to blame for what Michael had done, and he wasn’t okay with Lou making it out like it was. “And we both know how that ended.”

That had been the breaking point. Will had actually done something he never thought he would. He hung up with Lou Ellen without a word.

A week had passed since that conversation, and Will wasn’t completely over Lou Ellen being a bit of a bitch, but he was past giving her the silent treatment if for no reason than he wanted someone to talk to that felt like normal. Even if he had been meeting some new people at Olympus since putting some distance between himself and Nico, talking to them wasn’t the same as talking to Lou. She was one of his oldest friends.

He was heading to the call room. As he walked, he was psyching himself up for standing his ground with Lou. He figured he should probably at least apologize for hanging up on her, but beyond that, she had been in the wrong, so she was just going to have to get over it.

Will had probably been a little lost in his thoughts but it wasn’t like he wasn’t watching where he was going. He still got a little lost at Olympus, so he didn’t really have a choice. He was just walking down a hall when a door practically flew open. Will side-stepped to avoid getting hit in the face and found Nico of all people walking right into him.

He wasn’t sure who stepped away quicker, himself or Nico, but he was positive that Nico looked sad, almost like he had been crying. It didn’t last long, maybe only a second or two, but Will was completely certain he had seen it before the apathetic glare Nico was so known for drove any signs of actual emotion from his perfect face.

“Fuck,” Nico hissed and pulled his arms over his chest like the idea of physical contact with Will was repulsive.

“Sorry,” Will was quick to apologize even though he knew he didn’t have anything to be sorry for. If anything, Nico should have been the one apologizing since he had practically walked into Will. Will should have been mad or at the very least short with the guy considering how cold and cruel Nico had been toward him since that night. But he still felt sorry, and he couldn’t help but notice that the skin around Nico’s eyes were red and puffy like he had been crying. Will shouldn’t have cared about that, but he did…a lot.

“Are you okay?”

Something heated flared in Nico’s eyes at that. “I’m fucking fine,” he hissed, “Except you’re in my fucking way.” Nico pushed past him but was careful not to actually touch him as he passed, “I’ve got group.”

Nico was gone, and Will was left standing there in the hall. That was the moment it all hit him. It hit him how unfair it was that Nico turned into a dick right when Will had thought that there could be something between them. It hit him how unfair it was that he hadn’t done anything wrong, but he was still being treated like he had. But even more than that it hit him that Lou Ellen had been right. She had been right about everything.

With Michael, once pretty much the whole school knew Will was gay, Will had just tried to keep his head down. When Michael and his friends started going out of their way to harass him, Will had tried to avoid them in hopes that in time they would just move on. He had never once stood up for himself. Even the day he had hit Michael, it hadn’t been because he was standing up for himself, or because he was fed up with being mistreated. He had been cornered and seriously terrified about what would have happened if he hadn’t.

Lou was right. Will needed to stand up for himself. He couldn’t go back in time and change the way he handled things with Michael, but he didn’t have to replay it with Nico.

The more Will thought about it the more he realized that Nico was worse than Michael had ever been. Will had always thought Michael was that typical jock type, and he had been right. There had been a moment in the middle where he thought he could be different, but ultimately, he turned out to be pretty much the type of person Will had thought he was.

Nico was different. Under the black clothes and the lude comments, Will had thought he had seen more. He had thought he had seen a gentleness or even vulnerability in him. That wasn’t all in his head either because Nico had been kind to him in the past. Will hadn’t imagined that.

Will ran through those thoughts as he paced outside the group counseling room. He thought about every moment and every misleading exchange that had past between them. He wasn’t going to allow himself to be treated like shit when he hadn’t done anything wrong. He wasn’t going to hide like he should be ashamed. He wasn’t going to let things with Nico play out like things had played out with Michael.

Afternoon group disbanded and people started to enter the hall. There was a second as the first few people emerged that Will was tempted just to leave. Nico hadn’t seen him yet so he would never have to know that Will was even there.

Nico stepped into the hall looking distracted and mysterious. It would have been so easy to just let him walk by. Will had to dig deep to find the anger that had been so easily found moments earlier and stepped forward, physically putting himself in Nico’s path.

Nico practically walked into him yet again. He took a half a step back and glared up at Will with such venom. “Fuck! Don’t you ever watch where you’re walking,” he hissed.

“You literally walked into me,” Will pointed out yet again.

Nico grumbled something under his breath before moving to push past him. “Whatever,” he huffed.

Without thinking, Will reached out and caught Nico by the arm. It was such a bold thing to do. Will genuinely surprised himself, and he didn’t stop there even when Nico looked at him with complete shock and horror. He used his grip on Nico’s arm to tug the guy away from the group.

There was a closet near the group counseling room that Will knew Jason and Percy frequented when they wanted some alone time. Will had probably seen the two duck in or out of it at least a hundred times, but he never really thought about it as an actual place until that moment.

He tugged Nico into what turned out to be a pretty cramped space and slammed the door behind him. Will didn’t care if staff found them or if he got in trouble at this point. He was finally going to stand up for himself.

“What the fuck!” Nico shouted and tried to push past him to the door.

Will stepped to the side to block Nico’s path and pointed aggressively at Nico’s chest. “You’re a fucking selfish asshole!” he declared sharply.

“No shit,” Nico agreed in the most condescending tone possible before once again trying to get around Will.

He didn’t succeed. Will wouldn’t let him. Not yet. He was going to finally stand up for himself. “No,” Will stated firmly, “I’ve got something to say and you’re going to fucking listen.”

Nico pulled his arms over his chest, and it was unfair how someone who was so small could look so intimidating. “Then get the fuck on with it because I have shit to do,” he informed venomously.

Will almost shrank back from the sheer loathing in his voice, but he didn’t. Instead, he clung to that coldness as a symbol of all Nico’s lies because Nico had played like he was a nice person when clearly he was too selfish and toxic to care about anyone. “You didn’t have to make me like you,” he stated firmly.

Whatever Nico was expecting him to say or do it apparently hadn’t been that because he blinked with surprise. When he spoke that cold harsh tone from only seconds before was practically gone and he almost sounded like that guy Will had thought he was when they had been on the roof together. “What?”

“You’re sexually independent or whatever the fuck you tell yourself to excuse how you treat people like they’re disposable, but you didn’t need to make me like you,” Will reiterated. He had spent so much time avoiding Nico in fear of having to say something to him, but now that he had started, he couldn’t really stop. “You could have had what you wanted from me day one,” he admitted, and he didn’t even feel ashamed of that. Nico was beautiful and mysterious, and Will had been captivated from the moment he had seen him. Maybe that made him easy, but it was the truth and Will was so tired of having to be ashamed of things he couldn’t control about himself. He was tired of giving people that power over him. “Making me like you, making me think there was a chance that you liked me back and there could actually be something more between us…..,” Will stopped and just shook his head. Nico knew what he had done. Will didn’t need to give him the satisfaction of spelling it out for him, “That was just about stroking your ego.” Will pulled his arms over his own chest before adding, “For that, you’re a cruel fucking asshole.” He didn’t wait for Nico to say something in response. His response didn’t matter anymore. Will just turned and started to push open the door to the closet to leave. “Fuck you,” he declared before stepping out of the door and slamming it shut behind him.

Lou Ellen had been right, Will realized as he walked away and didn’t even think about looking back. He really should have stood up for himself sooner. Yelling at Nico didn’t change anything about what happened, but Will didn’t feel quite as helpless anymore.


	10. Chapter 10

Nico wouldn’t call himself emotionally stable or even close, but it had been a while since he had had a real attack. It usually helped that Nico didn’t really give a shit about anything. He had figured Golden Boy would just avoid him for the rest of his stay. He never expected Will to confront him like that.

Nico never liked seeing hookups after the act. It made him feel…… _uncomfortable_. As much as he liked having Will around, he was fine with him just making himself scarce. Getting cornered was unpleasant enough, but the things Will had said made it so much worse.

Nico had no illusions that he was anything but a piece of shit asshole. He didn’t need Will to tell him that, and Golden Boy wouldn’t be the first hook up as Nico’s to feel the need to tell him off afterward. It wasn’t fucking new. Will was, however, the first to suggest Nico had been… _manipulative_.

Nico wouldn’t lie, at least not to himself. Will was fucking hot, and Nico wanted to fuck him the moment he saw him. Getting to know Golden Boy hadn’t really helped with that any. So maybe Nico had sent some…. let's just call them mixed signals. It wasn’t like Nico had been nice, but he might have gotten a little flirty with Golden Boy on occasion. It wasn’t like he had made promises….had he?

He had never said they were dating or anything like that. It wasn’t like Golden Boy was unaware of Nico’s reputation. Jason and Percy had pretty much made sure of that. So, it wasn’t like he didn’t fucking know what Nico was about. How could he think that that night was anything more than a one-off thing?

Of course, Golden Boy was obviously not the casual hookup type. Nico got it. The guy was fucking amazing, so he should expect more. Were Nico’s actions misconstrued as a promise in and of itself? Had Nico unknowingly misled Golden Boy?

_Fuck!_

Of course, he had, and that thought made Nico’s stomach turn.

Nico could be a lot of horrible fucking things, but the thought of being so manipulative and self-serving was something he couldn’t handle. He was more than familiar with those kinds of people. That was his father, a man that would leave his pretty little wife in New York for business not telling her he would stop to visit his mistress and bastard children in Italy and then on his way back would take a quick detour to New Orleans for a quick fling with a Voodoo Queen. He never showed remorse for his lies because at the end of the day, it served his needs, and that was the only thing that mattered. That was Minos, a man who saw Nico at his most vulnerable and had no problem offering promises and speaking kind words to get what he wanted with zero real care for Nico.

_When did I become everything I hate?_

It was that question that did it. Standing in that closet of all fucking places where Will had left him, Nico’s heart began to race, and he struggled to breathe. The room spun, and it took everything for Nico to stay on his feet rather than collapsing onto the floor.

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed there trying to get himself together enough to be seen. He could still feel himself shaking when he finally left, which was far from great, but he was at least okay enough to make it back to his room and collapsed onto his bed.

Nico didn’t leave his room for the rest of the day. The idea of seeing other people alone was probably enough to keep him hidden and the idea of food made him feel physically sick, but it was more than that. The panic and dread that filled him was exhausting. He spent the rest of the day and all of the night slipping in and out of bouts of rather restless and unsatisfying sleep.

He gave up on the concept of rest around dawn. Still feeling completely drained, he forced himself out of bed, pulled on some clothes, and trudged downstairs to hit up the med line and to attend morning group.

Even if he was up, Nico had always made it a point to be late to morning group. The fact that they were expected to sit around and listen to each other’s bullshit complaints at 8 am was fucking ridiculous, and that was a point Nico was happy to make on a daily basis. That morning, however, he was one of the first people in the room, beating Percy, Jason, and Leo by at least five minutes.

The surprise on their fucking faces would have been fucking funny if Nico didn’t feel like shit. They recovered quickly and took their normal seats with Percy next to Nico, then Jason next to him, and then finally Leo. Of course, Nico’s presence didn’t go without fucking comment because Percy had no fucking filter. “Bro,” Percy declared as he leaned into Nico’s space. Percy always did shit like that because apparently exchanging blow jobs one time meant you no longer had to respect personal space. It was fucking annoying, but it wasn’t like Nico could fucking tell Percy that. “You look like shit,” he commented.

Nico glared at him. He had barely fucking slept. He knew he looked like fucking shit. He didn’t fucking need Percy to tell him that. “Thanks,” he replied flatly.

“Sorry,” Percy shrugged not seeming even a little apologetic as he added, “But seriously I haven’t seen you look this bad since your last panic attack.”

 _Jesus fucking Christ, why do I still fucking hang out with this guy_ , Nico wondered even though he knew the answer. Bianca, it’s what she would have wanted. That knowledge didn’t make Percy’s current idiocy any easier to deal with.

“Jackson,” he growled back too tired to play at even pretending he didn’t care, “Shut the fuck up.”

By some fucking miracle, Percy took the fucking hint and actually shut the fuck up. It might have been the first time in fucking history that had happened.

Golden Boy showed up last minute with Austin Lake and a few other trust fund kids. It wasn’t like Nico hadn’t noticed that he had made friends with some of those rich kids but watching him walking in with them felt a little like a slap in the face.

Sunshine didn’t give off that rich-kid vibe. He was too levelheaded and humble to be some spoiled-rotten Manhattanite. He was also pretty chill and probably could fit in anywhere, so there was a chance that that had just been the group he had gravitated toward while avoiding Nico. That actually made complete sense.

Nico’s brain and rational thought weren’t exactly friends at that point, so he just wondered if it meant something more. There were enough rumors around Olympus about Austin, and while Nico didn’t have hard proof, he was pretty sure they had shared a few hookups over their stays. Nico avoided that particular clique like the plague for hookups. There was just too much of a chance of running into them outside of Olympus or for them to know who Nico’s father was. That said, Nico could see Austin’s appeal with his well-kept dreadlocks and golden colored eyes. He and Will certainly seemed friendly enough, so it was completely possible that they were more even if that thought made Nico’s stomach turn.

Brunner didn’t say anything about Nico’s presence as he started group, and that really didn’t change as group went on. That worked well for Nico who was more than happy to sit through the whole thing in silence. The whole time his thoughts were clouded by everything Will had said.

It felt like decades passed before the hour-long group session ended, and everyone was able to leave. Nico ignored Percy and the others and walked away from them before they could ask any questions. The last thing Nico needed was to get distracted and lose his nerve.

He practically had to run to catch up with Golden Boy. He called his name and got no response as he continued on his way with his new friends like Nico was nothing. He was probably smart for that, but Nico couldn’t allow it. He ended up having to reach out and grab Will by the arm to get him to stop.

Will did stop, which Nico had guessed was what he had wanted although the look of utter disgust Will gave him made him question that. “What do you want?” Will questioned sharply.

That was the moment Nico realized he should have probably thought this whole thing out. It wasn’t like he had ever even thought about doing something like this before, so he had no fucking idea what he was doing or what he should say.

He could have just said sorry because that was what he was going for… or at least that was the thought, but Nico was pretty sure he had never apologized to anyone that wasn’t his sister. And even if he had, the last fucking thing he needed was it getting around Olympus that he was getting soft.

So instead of acting like a fucking person with some sense of decency or guilt, he did the only thing he was really good at. He acted like a truly abrasive prick. He pulled his arms over his chest and gave his best look of indignation. “What? You’re hanging out with the king of Molly now?” he questioned dismissively. Nico didn’t know much about Austin, but they ran in close enough circles outside of Olympus that Nico knew the guy’s business peddling party drugs to board private school kids in upper Manhattan. Even if Will and Austin together had a certain aesthetic appeal, Austin really didn’t seem to be Will’s speed.

Golden Boy’s expression hardened. “He’s not a huge fucking asshole,” he retorted sharply, “It’s a nice change of pace.”

Well, Nico couldn’t really say much to that. It wasn’t like Nico didn’t deserve that dig. It didn’t fucking help that Nico could see a little cluster of trust fund kids standing a few feet away. He was sure they were probably just waiting for Will, but it felt like they were watching them. Nico already felt weird enough about the whole thing without a fucking audience.

“Could we talk?” Nico finally managed to question. He tried to talk quietly without whispering, but it just came out sounding weird, “Like privately.”

Golden Boy pulled his arms over his chest, and his chin tilted upwards ever so slightly in a clear show of defiance. “I’ve said everything I need to say,” he declared with such fucking certainty. It should have been annoying, but Golden Boy had those blue eyes and those cute freckles, so it was all sort of enduring, which Nico really fucking hated.

Never in a million god-damned years would Nico had ever expected this shit from the same guy that blushed when Nico talked about blow jobs, and it really didn’t make him like Golden Boy any less. Guys that hot usually didn’t have a ton of depth. They didn’t fucking have to, but Will was more complicated than Nico would have guessed at first sight.

Nico did not have the time or the patience for this bullshit. He grabbed Will’s arm and started tugging him along as he replied with impatience, “Well, I haven’t.”

Golden Boy was so much larger than Nico that Nico had no doubt the guy could have pulled out of his grip. He must have been surprised because he didn’t even try to even when Nico stomped past a surprised looking Percy and Jason. Nico ended up practically shoving the sexy giant into a small room that he was pretty sure had once been used as a time-out space back in the day when the place had been a day school for younger kids with serious mental health issues instead of fuck up teenagers with shitty parents and bad attitudes.

Door shut so it was just the two of them, and Nico was already regretting this whole thing. Golden Boy pulled his arms over his chest and glared at him, which pretty much just added to the general sense of dread Nico was feeling.

“You really always have to get your way, don’t you?” Golden Boy commented harshly. The look he gave Nico could have wilted every flower in Persephone’s damn garden. If it wasn’t directed at him Nico might have been impressed by the level of clear disdain Will was shooting in his direction. But it was directed at Nico, which just made the whole thing more uncomfortable. That statement was just so far from Nico’s reality that it was almost laughable. Nico could really tell the guy some fucking stories that would illustrate just how off he was. “Could you just make whatever this is quick?” he asked sharply.

It wasn’t like Nico had gone into this whole interaction thinking it was going to be fun, but this was actually fucking worse than he had been expecting. He was actually tempted to just leave and call Golden Boy and his entire experience with him a lost fucking cause. He didn’t actually do it, but it was such a tempting fucking thought.

Instead, he just pushed his fingers through his hair roughly. “So, your pissed, and I get that,” he admitted. Apparently, Nico had been kind of an asshole in the whole thing. It hadn’t been a purposeful thing, but in hindsight, Nico saw that shit. He could be a fucking asshole, but he didn’t want to be that guy. That was the whole fucking reason he was putting himself through this fucking misery. He couldn’t let himself be that fucking guy. He huffed because this was just so fucking ridiculous. “The thing is you shouldn’t have ever wanted me.”

“Oh yeah?” Golden Boy questioned with heavy sarcasm, “You’ve already made that perfectly clear.”

“You don’t get it,” Nico stated. He really wished that the guy could dial back the attitude just a little bit because it was really getting in the fucking way. “I destroy everything… _everyone_ close to me.”

There it was. The sad truth of Nico’s existence. He didn’t share the ugly details of it. He didn’t go through all the evidence of his toxicity. He just stated the fucking truth. How Golden Boy couldn’t see that shit just from looking at him, Nico didn’t fucking know, but now there was just no fucking way he could deny it.

“Oh, so you used me and tossed me aside to protect me?” Will questioned sharply. He clearly wasn’t fucking impressed if the way he rolled his eyes were any indication. “Thanks for that,” he stated with heavy sarcasm before going to move past Nico.

Nico once again put himself in Will’s path to stop him from leaving. Nico really wished he would stop fucking doing that. It wasn’t like Nico normally did this shit, so it was hard enough, but every time Will tried to leave, they seemed to get closer, and that made everything so much worse.

“I didn’t….,” Nico stopped.

He wanted to say he hadn’t used Will, but he wasn’t sure if that was true, at least not completely. He had wanted Will. If he was being real fucking honest, even though Will was being a dick at the moment, Nico still fucking wanted him. And he wanted a lot fucking more than to just stroke the guy’s dick. Nico had known acting on that want was a bad fucking idea, but the first chance he really got he had acted on it anyway. Maybe that wasn’t using Will, but it was still pretty messed up. And he hadn’t exactly been kind to Will afterward. It had been out of shame, and a lot of other emotions Nico didn’t really want to talk about, but it wasn’t maybe the best way to handle it.

“Fuck!” Nico hissed. “I fucked up, alright?” he threw up his hands in complete surrender. “I fucking admit it! I fucked up!” He pushed his fingers through his hair roughly. “I should have told you to fuck off that first fucking day! I should have avoided you like the god damned plague!” If only Nico had been strong enough to do that. He wouldn’t have to have this awful fucking conversation. He wouldn’t feel like absolute shit for yet another thing. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been that strong.

Nico let out a long sigh, “But I wanted you, and the more time I spent with you the more I liked you,” he admitted, which might have been the most embarrassing thing he had ever said out loud. It was all the truth, but it sounded even worse when he heard himself say it. “So, I lied to myself, and I told myself I could ignore it when I clearly fucking couldn’t,” he just shook his head as he continued, “I fucked up, which really isn’t a big surprise because I’m fucked up beyond belief, but…but I’m sorry.”

Nico finally let himself really look at Will, and the guy was no longer glaring at him. Instead, he was blinking at Nico like he had just slapped him or something. “You liked me?”

The question was so sincere and filled with utter shock. It was also completely not what Nico was trying to talk about. “No, not really,” Nico retorted sharply because sarcasm was far more comfortable. Of course, he liked Will. He liked him even more when he told him off because apparently, Nico was that fucked up. He had already said it, and that was bad enough. Also, no guy that looked like Golden Boy should sound so surprised that someone was into him. It was really about fucking time he realized that he was probably the dude most of the gay guys in his high school secretly had the hots for. Nico wasn’t saying any of that either. “I get involved in this kind of melodrama with all the guys I fool around with ‘cause this is fun for me.”

“Why?” Will questioned with utter bewilderment, “Why did you like me?”

Golden Boy looked distracted, and Nico was sure that if he went for the door the guy wouldn’t even think to stop him. He should have bolted to get away from the entire conversation, but he didn’t, and even Nico really didn’t understand why.

“Are you fucking serious,” Nico answered with a question of his own and a huff to show off just how little he cared. “Have you looked in the fucking mirror lately? You are a god-damned Adonis,” he declared matter-of-factly. After all, it was a fact. It wasn’t like Nico was admitting that Golden Boy was attractive to him specifically even though he very much was. “And you have cute freckles and a great smile,” Nico stated even though he didn’t know why he was still fucking talking at all. “You are also funny in this completely unintentional and sincere way,” Nico looked away, pushed his fingers through his hair, and hoped this would be worth it in the end. “You seem too kind and thoughtful to be here, but you have handled the craziness of being here better than I ever have,” he admitted, and that was something Nico had never come close to admitting to anyone before.

The first time Nico had been sent to Olympus he had been young and scared. With his father being who he was, acting that way was simply unacceptable, so Nico learned to hide his fear and his sadness and pretend like he was unaffected. Will was so much more honest in his approach to everything, which Nico envied, “And, I don’t know, but when I’m around you I sort of want to try to be …. Better, I guess.”

“I ….” Will just looked at him completely bewildered for a few seconds before adding, “I don’t know how I am supposed to take that.”

 _Fuck! Why did Golden Boy have to make this so god-damned hard_? Nico had already said more than he was okay with. Why was he looking for more? He huffed and rolled his eyes. Maybe that was his way of covering up his discomfort, but oh fucking well. “Take it however the fuck you want,” Nico growled, “But know that I’m fucking sorry.”

Will was quiet for a long moment as he chewed on his bottom lip in a nervous (and cute) way. Nico wished he knew what was going on in the guy’s head because standing there in fucking silence not knowing was fucking killing him.

“Do you still….” Golden Boy started in a quiet, uncertain voice as he kept his eyes cast downward, “Um…me?”

“What? Think you’re an Adonis,” Nico questioned. His words were still coming out aggressive and sort of angry and even he didn’t know why. He was just shit at talking, apparently. “Yes, I still have fucking eyes.”

Golden Boy looked up with those impossible blue eyes wide-eyed with confusion. “I mean, do you still like me?” Will asked.

Nico immediately knew that he shouldn’t answer that question. Honesty had never gotten him anything but trouble. That hardly seemed like the time to re-learn that particular life lesson, but there was something so vulnerable in Golden Boy’s eyes. “Will, you have been generally avoiding me or telling me off, and I’m apparently fucked up enough to think that’s a turn on so yes,” he admitted as he pulled his arms over his chest, “I still like you.”

Will gave a cute little half-smile as he admitted, “I still like you too.”

“That’s fucking stupid,” Nico dismissed. Golden Boy was too beautiful, too kind, and too perfect to get mixed up with someone as fucked up as Nico. He would be so much better off taken an interest in literally anyone else. How Golden Boy didn’t already see that, Nico didn’t know. “You should probably fucking stop.”

Nico meant it. Will should stop thinking he liked him, and even more so, he needed to stop saying things like that to Nico. It wasn’t like Nico had any illusions about just how out of his league Will was, but he still didn’t need the false hope. When Will talked like that it made it feel like it was almost okay to imagine being with a guy like Will. There was nothing but disappointment waiting for Nico in such fantasies.

“I’ve tried,” Golden Boy assured with a sad little laugh, “I swear.”

He bit his lower lip, and Nico couldn’t tell if it was in a nervous or sad sort of way. More importantly, Nico didn’t want to figure it out. Thinking about it seemed too risky. Nico wasn’t exactly proud of it, but he did his best to channel his father and seem casually unaffected and maybe a little distant as he questioned, “So, we’re good?”

Will looked around nervously for a second or two before giving a little nod. “Yeah,” he stated, “We’re good.”

So, there it was. They were good. Whatever the fuck that fucking meant. The conversation was over. It should have been over, but neither of them moved. So, they were just standing there awkwardly staring at each other or trying not to look at each other. The awkwardness just seemed to get worse the longer they stood there.

Nico knew he should just go. He could just walk out the door and away from all the drama, but he didn’t. The longer he stood there the more he thought about what could be if he didn’t. Will said he liked him, and he was just so…….hot.

“So…..” Will broke the silence with a nervous little smile, “Are you going, or should I?”

Nico looked up at Will for a second, and Will apparently took that as a sign that he should go. He started toward the door, but Nico reached out and caught his wrist just before he could reach for the doorknob. “Not yet,” Nico stated. Will stopped and turned with a confused look. “There is something I want to do first,” Nico admitted.

He took a step forward and then another. He saw Will’s confusion turn to surprise and then maybe even alarm. “Um,” Will exclaimed nervously.

Nico didn’t pause in his movement, even though he and Will were about as close as they could get. Nico pressed up on his toes and pressed his lips against Will’s.

The kiss was soft and innocent enough, although Nico thought there was the potential of something more. Will kissed back for a few seconds, and Nico had to admit for a guy that didn’t have a ton of experience Will was a damn good kisser. It was a disappointment when Will tilted his head upward breaking the kiss before it really even started.

Nico could feel Will’s heart pounding as he looked at something just above Nico’s head. “You really are the most confusing person I’ve ever met,” Will declared with a nervous little laugh.

So apparently it was Nico’s turn to be confused. He took a half a step back to try to read the guy’s expression, but it didn’t help. “You said you liked me,” Nico reminded a little bewildered. He got that Will was all sweet and innocent or whatever, but he was still a guy. He said he was into Nico, and he had to be horny, so why shouldn’t they have some fun.

Will seemed to shift a little where he stood. “I do,” he admitted under his breath, almost like he was embarrassed as he carefully looked down at his shoes.

Nico still wasn’t sure if he completely believed that, but just hearing a guy like Will wanted him was a nice boost to the ego. And the truth was Nico liked having the guy around, and he definitely wanted another go at him in bed. It all seemed pretty simple. “Then there is no reason we can’t-”

Nico hadn’t really thought about how he was leaning a little more into Golden Boy’s space as he spoke until Golden Boy practically jumped. He took several steps backward, away from Nico, and further into the room creating more distance between them until Nico had his back to the door, and Will was standing several feet away. “Um yeah,” Will muttered nervously as he rubbed at the back of his neck, “I think we do things at very different speeds.”

“What do you mean?” Nico questioned. He was trying to sound offended, but in truth, he had only half heard what Golden Boy had even said. His brain was too busy running through worse case scenarios. Considering what Golden Boy looked like it was insane to think that someone else hadn’t made a move. The thought of Will in someone else’s bed bothered Nico more then he would have expected or that he could explain.

Will gave a shrug, obviously unaware of the thoughts playing in Nico’s head. “It’s not a judgment or anything,” he assured, “I just don’t think the whole hookup thing is for me.”

That caught Nico’s attention a little more, but he couldn’t even think about it with the questions swirling around in his head. At the risk of seeming like he actually cared, he just asked, “So you and Austin aren’t….”

“No!” Will exclaimed. Nico couldn’t figure out if he was shocked or appalled by the thought, but he hoped it was the latter. “We just talk sometimes, nothing like that.”

“Okay,” Nico nodded as his only outward sign of relief. “So, what is your thing then?” He questioned as he got back to the matter at hand. He had never had a guy say he was into him and then be so…. _hesitant_ before. Normally guys were quick to at least try to get into Nico’s pants. Will was a fucking enigma. “Dating and romance and all of that shit?”

“I mean,” Golden Boy shrugged his broad shoulders and rubbed at the back of his neck in a nervous way, “I get it isn’t your thing, but….yeah.”

“Oh,” Nico replied almost involuntarily. He knew he shouldn’t have been surprised because Golden Boy had that whole doe-eyed innocence thing going for him and being a romantic probably went right along with that. He was also fucking adorable, so if anyone deserved that kind of think it was him, in Nico’s opinion. But something about the guy saying it out loud left Nico feeling almost rejected because guys like Will didn’t date guys like him. No one dated guys like him. Nico knew that he was too damaged for things like that. That was a knowledge he had accepted long before. That shit wasn’t Golden Boy’s fault, but there he was standing there looking guilty, and Nico fucking hated that. “Yeah, I guess I should have figured,” Nico tried his fucking best to sound casual about the whole thing but could hear how badly he missed the mark.

“Um…..,” Will hummed as he once again to an interest in the floor, “So you’ve never…um….wanted something like that?”

That was a loaded question even if the guy didn’t mean it to be. The truth was there had been a time when Nico was younger and infinitely more naïve that he had believed all that love and romance shit was real. He could remember being young and watching his parents. He remembered how happy his mother would be when his father would arrive, and how Hades, a man known for being cold and intimidating would seem to find some sort of inner peace when his mother would greet him with a hug. He remembered believing in that and believing that was something attainable in his future. Of course, that was before he learned that all of that was a lie. That was before he learned that his father had a pretty wife in the states and a second mistress in New Orleans. That had been before he had to watch his mother wither away and die. That was before Bianca. That was before Minos. No, Nico had lived through too much to still believe in the fairytales of his childhood. None of that was really anything he could even begin to explain even if he wanted to. And, while Nico knew that sort of thing was a lie, it was a nice one, so who was he to try to take that from Will?

“Like I said,” he began his answer, “I’m not exactly great luck for other people.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but at least it was some of it.

Golden Boy seemed to deflate a little. “So I guess you wouldn’t want something like that…um….with me.”

The thought was so beyond reality Nico didn’t even fully process what was said before dismissing it out of hand. “You don’t want that,” he stated with certainty. How could Will want that? He really could do so much better, and he had to know that on some level.

If Nico had expected that to end the conversation, he was dead wrong. Up to that point Golden Boy had been nervous and bashful in a charmingly adorable way, but as soon as Nico finished talking, he let out an annoyed huff and then visibly rolled his eyes. “Okay, so don’t take this the wrong way, but you get I’m capable of making my own decisions, right?” he questioned, and it didn’t seem like he was making much effort to hide his annoyance. He was kind of cute when he was annoyed, which was extremely unfair. “I thought I was pretty obvious about what I wanted.”

Nico wasn’t even sure how the conversation had gotten to that point. Will was just so insistent it was hard to not believe him even if Nico knew better. Even if he believed Will, and he really did….um….have an interest in Nico, he really shouldn’t. Golden Boy really could do so much better than him. And it wasn’t like Nico could give him what he wanted. Yeah, Nico was more than happy to hop into bed with him, and that Nico could do very well. All the rest of it though….that wasn’t Nico. Anyone that knew Nico at all could have told Golden Boy that.

Yeah, maybe it was an enticing idea, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t almost laughable. “What? You want us to be like boyfriends or something?” Nico questioned dismissively. He could practically hear Percy laughing at the idea of him dating.

“I like you,” Golden Boy responded with such sincerity, “And you said you like me.” Nico didn’t need that particular reminder. Just standing there looking at Will served to remind him just how much he felt pulled to the guy. Will just shrugged before continuing, “So yeah, if you wanted.”

“Um…,” Nico hummed nervously because the thought really was enticing. Will was not only hot, but he seemed so nice and smart. If Nico was going to want something like that, he wanted it to be with someone like Will. But Nico knew he would ruin it just by his cursed existence, and worse yet, he would ruin Will. Even if he didn’t ruin everyone that touched him, it wasn’t even like he knew what the fuck he was doing. “I’ve never actually done that before,” he admitted.

Will looked just as surprised by that as Nico was that he had admitted that at all. “You’ve never dated?” he asked with evident disbelief.

“Not really,” Nico answered. There had been Minos, and at the time Nico was so naïve and had bought all of Minos’s lies so he had thought. Looking back, Nico was fucking embarrassed he had been so easily manipulated. That was not dating. He was getting more and more uncomfortable with the entire conversation. It was just too close to things Nico didn’t really talk about with anyone. He certainly wasn’t going to try to explain that shit to Will, a guy he really didn’t know.

“Oh,” Will exclaimed with such a cute little half-smile that was so fucking adorable it was almost contagious. Nico wished he had a picture of that smile so he could draw Will wearing it. It seemed like the perfect expression for him. “I guess it could be a first for both of us then…ya know if you wanted.”

It was an absolutely horrible idea, but Nico found he really wanted to say yes. He would be a horrible boyfriend; he was sure of it, but Will really did make him want to try. He hadn’t been lying when he said that just being around Will made him want to be better somehow. Even more then he wanted to say yes, he didn’t want to tell Will no. The idea of seeing Will disappointed made his stomach turn unpleasantly. “Um,” he gave an uncertain nod, “Yeah, I guess.”

 _I’m losing my fucking mind_ , Nico thought as he heard the words spoken out loud. Percy and Jason were going to have a fucking field day when they found out, and Nico could imagine what the whole thing would do to his reputation once it got around Olympus. Weirdly, none of that shit bothered him. He was absolutely freaked out at the idea, but that had more to do with all the ways he could fuck things up.

His nervous must have read on his face, and Will took it as apprehension or reluctance because all the boldness he had only seconds before vanished like smoke. He was back to looking down at his shoes and speaking in a soft uncertain voice. “I mean, if you don’t want to that’s cool,” he assured although he wasn’t too convincing. “We can be cool just..um….”

“I’d have to keep my hands to myself?” Nico offered. Will had made it clear that it was an all or nothing deal. That was definitely a selling point on the whole dating thing because Nico really didn’t want to keep his hands to himself, especially now that he knew what Will was working with.

Nico had hoped that finishing Will’s thought would be reassuring or something. He didn’t really fucking know, but he hadn’t expected Will to look even more disappointed. Was it possible that Nico was already fucking the whole thing up that badly?

“Um, yeah,” Will muttered under his breath so quietly Nico almost couldn’t make out the words, “Something like that.”

“Alright,” Nico agreed with a nod. He had already agreed to try the whole dating thing so it really didn’t matter, but he guessed if Will needed to reiterate the point, he could confirm his understanding.

 _Was this what dating was_? Conversations where you felt like you never knew all the layers being discussed? It was stressful, to say the least, and considering Nico had a tendency to say insensitive shit on a daily fucking basis that wasn’t going to end well.

“Oh, okay,” Will exclaimed. He took a deep breath and lifted his head, but he still had a weird energy about him. It was like he was upset, but he was trying to hide it. “So, we're cool then, and um, I should probably go,” Will explained talking very fast. It was all very strange and confusing, and Will didn’t give Nico enough time to even try to figure it out before he quickly pushed past Nico and walked out of the room.

Nico stood there at a complete loss for an embarrassingly long time before the horrible mess of confusion started to clear. In all the nervousness and fumbling had Will thought he was agreeing to keep his hands to himself rather than agreeing to try the whole dating thing? He had been sort of unclear in what he was agreeing too, and it would explain Will’s reaction and him leaving so suddenly.

“Fuck,” Nico cursed out loud before turning and dashing out of the door. Thank god Will was tall because if he wasn’t there would have been no way Nico would have spotted him, he was so far down the hall. He was walking fast too, so Nico really had to jog to catch up. Nico didn’t miss the looks he got as he passed either, but he couldn’t worry about that.

He managed to catch up before Will hit the staircase and made his presence known by gently grabbing Will’s arm just behind the elbow. The surprised look Will gave him pretty much confirmed Nico’s fears that he was already fucking the whole thing up. Nico could have apologized or at least explained the whole thing, but that would have been embarrassing and exposing, and Nico sucked at that, so he tried a different approach. Mainly ignoring the whole thing happened. “So how does this work because it isn’t like I can take you out to dinner or some shit in this place?” He asked. Nico was willing to admit his knowledge base was limited, but from what he did know that sort of thing didn’t really fit with Olympus. He was actually genuinely curious about what Will was expecting.

“Wait?” Will exclaimed obviously confused. So confused in fact he almost missed the first step of the stairs. Nico caught him enough to stop him from completely wiping out, which just seemed to confuse Will more. “You want to…with me?”

“I mean, I guess. I know I don’t want to keep my hands to myself that is for fucking sure,” Nico declared. At least he was well-practiced at playing confident when he was anything but because Will tied his insides in knots. “We just fucking talked about this?”

“I thought…..Um…..nevermind what I thought,” Will let out a nervous little laugh and then smiled, which at least eased Nico’s tension some. “Um, I guess we could have breakfast together for starts”

“Alright then,” Nico agreed. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed.
> 
> This fic will update monthly.
> 
> You can follow me at delta-roseblr.tumblr.com
> 
> You can also visit my website (https://www.inkandparchment.net) - I Wanna Get Better will be posted on my website first (and is several chapters ahead).


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